Origins: Rise of the Pumpkin King
by Sugary Snicket
Summary: How did Jack come to inherit his leadership? This story explores into that question and more. Rated T for murder references and a scene involving a graphic burn injury. Also rated for a few rather intense scenes.
1. 1: The Beginning

_Hi, peeps, I've got another awesome story for you to read, and It's at the same time as my other Nightmare story, "Right Here". This story takes place in the past, before Jack even became the Pumpkin King we know and love today. But first, you need to know one thing: I DON'T OWN THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS, even though I'd like to, but in order to do that, I'd have to mooch off Tim Burton and Disney, and even then they might not let me take it! So, kick back, relax and - Jack enters room with evil grin on his face Hey, Jack, what are you doing here? What are you doing with that rope? Why aren't you narrating the story? Jack flicks the lights off and there is silence for a moment, then Jack flicks the lights back on_

_Oh, um, sorry about that. Sugary got an unexpected assignment and couldn't narrate, so she elected me to do it for her. Unfortunately, she won't be coming back. She's all tied up at the moment._

_flashback_

_Sugary is bound in iron chains._

_Jack, so help me God you are going to PAY for this!_

_end flashback_

_Oh, don't worry, she's fine. We'll check in on her later. In the meantime, let's get this show on the road._

_Now, you've probably seen TNBC before. You probably know the story. otherwise, you wouldn't be here But for every story, there's a backstory, something that happened before which set the stage for the story in question to take place. That's what this is: my back story. Fasten your seatbelt, dear reader, because this story is liable to knock you dead, assuming that you aren't already. Oh crap, i forgot. I'm talking to people in the real world who are reading this. Never mind._

_It started the Halloween of 1986, a little more than seven years before what we in Halloween Town now refer to as "The Christmas Incident". I was 25 years old, just barely out of collage, and I had recently gotten my diploma in Special Effects and Set Design. I had been hired only a month ago, and I already had become rather popular with the others in my work area. And I loved the Fall. The leaves falling from the trees like so much colorful confetti, My birthday - October 31st, if you can belive that, bonfires, and, of course, Halloween. My house was always one of the most eccentirc, with axes embedded in the trees , foam gravestones, and false cobwebs all over my house, I even had a strobelight. And the best part? I set up a haunted maze every year that was the only way for Tirck-or-treaters to get to their sugary snacks. (I never went after young children, though, so don't worry about that.) I'd give out huge candy bars, homemade treats, or even those long licorice ropes, and I even dressed the part. Too bad it all had to end so soon._

_But before I tell you of my own death, I should probably tell you more about my career..._

Flashback

October 31st, 1986

_Yeah, just one of those days._

It was the midmorning rush in Albany, New York, and a man by the name of Jack Skellington was stuck in the middle of it in his black four-door Ford with "Manic Monday" playing on the radio and adding to the irony of the morning mood. The traffic was as thick as fog, but despite all this, Jack was in a rather good mood. he munched his Krispy Kreme doughnut and sipped his coffee while waiting for the traffic to clear. He surveyed the traffic with his icy blue eyes for an opening to drive through, totally unaware that someone was watching him in jelousy.

Jonathan Herlee hated Jack. This was more than just a simple maybe, this was a fact. Jonathan was the repairman for the studio Jack worked for, but he had wanted Jack's job. Unfortunately, there had only been one opening, and Jack had gotten it, the lucky dog that he was. Jonathan drummed his chubby fingers on the steering wheel and staring at Jack's nicer car in envy with dull brown eyes. Jonathan was 40, and his hair was just beginning to thin, which made him feel insecure. He hated his junky, beat-up grey Chevorlette, he hated his terrible job, and he hated his terrible problem with gambling. Yeah, he loved it, and he always hoped his luck would take a turn for the better and allow him to win big, but unfortunately he often cheated, which had gotten him thrown out of many casinos. It was a wonder he hadn't been locked up by now. He noticed Jack driving through a slim opening and he tailgated him, following as close as he could so as to keep an eye on his old enemy as their workplce came up.

Jonathan slogged in tiredly, not even bothering to say hello to Doris the receptionist.

"Happy Halloween," she said cheerfully, giving Jonathan a small smile. She had even painted her nails for the occasion: Black and orange striped diagonally and evenly across each perfectly manicured nail. _Fakes,_ Jonathan thought as he grabbed his grey mantainance cap off of his hanger and walked into the elevator. He punched the basement button and decended into the dark downstairs where he spent most of his day.

Jack walked in, humming a pleasent little tune to himself and adjusting his rather loud Halloween-themed tie.

"Hello, Doris," he said politely with a confident grin. "How are you?"

"Good. How's your Halloween going so far?" She typed so quickly her fingers were a blur of orange and black on the keys.

"Just fine. How's production coming on that horror film?"

"Very well. They're just finishing the last scene now. How is the trellis for "Gardens of Love" coming? They need it today, you know"

"It's well on its way. I just need to put a bit more ivy on it, and it should be done by lunch. I see you've done your nails. they're great."

"Oh, you noticed?" she said, blushing. "How astute of you."

"It compliments you - and the season - well," Jack replied. "I really must be going, now, I have to work on that trellis as well as the Romen columns for the documentary on Julies Ceaser we've been shooting in studio 5." With that, he walked off rather quickly, wanting to get away from Doris and her flirtatious nature.

He entered the work studio carefully, wondering why in the world it had been darkened. He cautiously flicked on the lights and found that nobody was there. _Must be stuck in traffic,_ he thought, closing the door behind him.

He was suddenly startled by cries of "Surprise!" and "Happy Birthday!" from his fellow co-workers. Jack was surprised alright - he had nearly forgot that he was turning 26 today!

"Another year older," said Tim, Jack's close friend. Tim was nearly as thin and lanky as Jack was, and he was rather impish in nature, as if he had never grown out of being a kid. This was accented by his boyish face, covered in freckles, and his fiery red hair.

"Yeah. It's Monday again."

Tim looked stunned for a moment and counted on his fingers. "Oh crap," he said, "It's _Monday?_"

Laughter erupted from a large group of co-workers behind him.

"Of course," Tim said, "It's no party without a cake." Two of Jack's female co-workers rolled out a cart with a large sheet cake on it that had been decorated with black and purple frosting. "It's chocolate," Tim continued. "Your favorite."

"Thanks, man," Jack said, cutting himself a piece of cake.

Suddenly, Jonathan walked into the room, an annoyed look on his face and a ladder in his arms.

"S'cuse me," he said, sounding as if he would rather not bother being polite. "I'm s'posed to change the light up there."

Jack thoughtfully reached over to the switch for that partictualr lamp to turn it off.

"Thank you, Jack," Jonathan said, emphasising 'Jack' to indicate his great disdain for him, "But I don't need _your_ help to change this lightbulb." He set the ladder up and began to climb.

"Jonathan?" Jack asked, concerned for his co-worker's safety, "Would you like me to steady the ladder for you?

"No, I'm fine," Jonathan snapped, climbing more ferociously. The ladder began to shake dangerously.

"Jonathan, that _really_ doesn't look safe." Jack was certain that the ladder would fall now. He was worried that Jonathan might fall and hurt himself - or worse, hurt someone else.

"I'm fine!" Jonathan yelled. He had reached the top of the ladder, and as he said this, he grabbed the hamging lamp and gave a final stomp. The ladder suddenly slid out from underneith him, leaving him hanging by a thin cable from the lamp. Jonathan looked down in fear and shock. The floor was more than 20 feet away; a drop from that height would most certainly break his neck, if not at least most of the bones in his body.

Jack had to act fast, or else Jonathan might not survive the fall. He and Tim quickly grabbed a tarp and, with the help of his fellow co-workers, stretched it out underneith Jonathan.

"Jump!" Jack yelled up to Jonathan.

"No! Are you crazy?" Jonathan was NOT letting go of that lamp, especially if some crazy enemy of his was telling him to. Jonathan had no choice, however - his grip was beginning to slip. Soon, it had slipped all the way - and Jonathan fell into the tarp, which bounced him up and into Jack's cake.

Once the scare of Jonathan's fall had subsided, laughter took over. Jonathan could feel the cake cook on his face from his rage and embarassment.

"Jonathan, are you okay?" Jack asked.

"I'm fine, _father,_" Jonathan replied sarchastically as he walked out of the studio.

"Jonathan," Jack said, "I'm so sorry."

But Jonathan had already left, stewing in his anger.

Little did Jack know that Jonathan was planning something. Something horrible.

End Flashback

_I knever knew. How could I have? It's not my fault I'm dead now, he was just jealous. Jealousy can lead people to do crazy things. But that's another chapter. Let's go check on Sugary._

_Five minutes later_

_Jack: Hello, Sugary. I trust that you are comfortable?_

_Sugary: Pfft, No! struggles_

_Jack: I wouldn't do that if I were you..._

_Sugary: suspicious Why?_

_Jack: points to a spider off in the corner opposite Sugary. A GIANT spider._

_Sugary: Screams so loud that people in Siberia go deaf._

_Jack: Oh, don't worry, I won't hurt her ... much._

_Sugary: And if they review?_

_Jack: Then you'll be reasonably okay... if you count the possible loss of your life being okay... grins evilly_

_Sugary: nervous Uh, yeah, so please review! Please? DON'T LEAVE ME HERE!_

_Jack: laughs evilly and flicks off lights_


	2. 2: The Journey

_Welcome back. If you are just joining us, go back and read chapter one. If not, feel free to continue. I was just about to read the one plus review that I got. Yeah. ONE. JUST one. There's like, nobody in the TNBC section of this site. Thanks to those who DID review, however._

_Flight815survivor: Jack: Yeah, we could come to some agreement, but then it wouldn't be any fun! For me, I mean. As for Sugary... uncovers Sugary's mouth_

_Sugary: HEEEEEELLLLPPPP!_

_Jack: oh well, at least she knows me. ;)_

_Jack: Ya know, It's really quite sad that nobody else reviewed. Now I'm going to have to force Sugary to eat this live worm. pulls out live worm_

_Sugary: EWW! I am NOT eating that!_

_Jack: But it's good. eats_

_Sugary: Okay, that's just sick._

_Jack: It's not as bad as some of the stuff you teenagers eat. I mean, really - french fries? Pizza? That's sickening._

_Sugary: drools at prospect of edible food hey man, don't knock it until you try it._

_Jack: If that's the case, then eat this other worm I convinenetly had in my other pocket._

_Sugary: NO!_

_Jack: Just pretend it's a french fry._

_Sugary: But it's not._

_Jack: Well, pretend it is._

_Sugary: You are NOT shoving that wriggling, slimy thing down my throat, Pumpkin King or no!_

_Jack: I'll MAKE you eat it then. Forces worm into Sugary's mouth Now chew._

_Sugary: You've gotta be kidding me. This is already going to make me gag!_

_Jack: I said CHEW, Sugary! Forces Sugary to chew and then swallow There. Now was that so bad?_

_Sugary: YES! feels sick I certainly hope that you didn't just pull that worm out of the ground._

_Jack: Ignorance is bliss, Sugary. evil grin Anyway, let's get back to the story. It is now Jonathan's turn to tell it - for one portion, anyway, and Sugary, you better not force yourself to puke that worm back up, or I'll just make you eat another one._

_Sugary: I don't know what's worse - Having eaten that worm and feeling like I have to puke afterwards, or having eaten the worm and having little bits of it stuck in my braces still. O.o_

_Jack: Okay, welcome, Jonathan. Jonathan walks on stage_

_Jonathan: Hi, everyone, my name is Jonathan._

_Audience: Hi, Jonathan..._

_Jonathan: Hi, this is going to start with me thinking. Okay?_

_Audience: O.o_

_Audience: -- ZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZz..._

_crickets chirp_

_Jack: Okay... That was exciting... O.o_

_Sugary: -- ZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZzZz... Gets smacked by Jonathan Oh, what'd I miss? Oh, it's just you. Hey Jack, can I puke on him?_

_Jack: No, you can tolerate me having forced you to eat that worm._

_Jonathan: You forced her to eat a worm? O.o_

_Jack: looks annoyed Get on with the story, Jonathan..._

_Jonathan: Make me!_

_Jack: Evil grin disappears_

_Jonathan: What now?_

_Jack: suddenly appears behind him RAWR!_

_Jonathan: screams like sissy girl Okay, okay, I'll get on with it!_

Flashback

Jonathan's apartment, 9:45 pm

It was too much. First, he had been docked a week's pay for causing that accident in Studio 28, then his hours had dramatically been shot up so that he now had to work the night shift, and now Jack had embarrasssed him in front of the entire Special Effects crew. No. It was just too much stress. He was NOT going to suffer anymore. He was so sick of his crappy job, apartment, and LIFE, reminders of how Jack would always win, how Jack would always get the girl, how Jonathan would always be left in the shadows. It was like Jack had spread a cancer to him, one that took all he had ever wanted and claimed it for its own; one that begged removal. And how was cancer removed from the body? It was cut out via surgery, of course. A knife sat on the kitchen/living room/bedroom/dining room table, pleading to be used. To excise the cancer that had stolen his life. One slice to the neck, and it'd be over before it even started.

The blade glittered inticingly. Tonight Jontahan would be paying Jack a little visit, but NOT to Trick-or-Treat.

Flashback ends

_Jack: Okay, my turn again. kicks Jonathan out of studio_

_Sugary: Struggles not to throw up_

Flashback

Jack's house, 10:30 pm

It was a pleasent night for Halloween to fall on. Not a cloud was in the sky, and the moon was full, adding to the eerie Autumn atmosphere. The last group of Trick-or-Treaters had just paied a visit, and now Jack was relaxing in his living room with some of the leftover Popcorn Balls he had made for treats this year. He grabbed the remote and flicked on the television. Some stupid B-grade horror movie was playing on TNT. Whatever. He flipped throught the channels until he got to ABC Family. _World's Scariest Places_ was on, a Fall favorite for Jack. He eagerly munched his salty-but-sweet treat as the doorbell rang.

The family on TV screamed as Jack got up and walked over to the door, wondering who in the world would let their kids out this late to Trick-or-treat. _Maybe the kids are older,_ he thought. He opened the door to find Jonathan standing there, grinning like the cat who had swallowed the canary. This seemed incredibly fishy, because Jonathan didn't even know where Jack lived, and so never paid him a visit - until now, that is.

"Hello, Jonathan," Jack said. "To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?"

"Just dropping in," Jonathan replied. His grip tightened on the knife behind his back.

Jack noticed the conceiled hands and asked what Jonathan was hiding.

"Oh, nothing, nothing," Jonathan dismissed. "It's a little gift for you, ya know, to repay you for all that you've done for me." He sat on the couch. Jack hesitantly followed suit.

"I didn't do anything for you, though," Jack replied. Things were beginning to seem very fishy all of the sudden.

"It's for your birthday, too," Jonathan lied quickly. "Oh, what are you watching?"

"_World's Scariest Places._ It's a really interesting show where they send people to all these places that are allegedly haunted."

"Oh."

Silence. Uncomfortable silence.

"You'll have to turn the TV off if you want your present." Jonathan grinned eagerly.

Jack flicked the TV off, never letting his eyes leave Jonathan's.

"The light too," Jonathan said, unsheathing the hunting knife behind his back.

Jack hesitated a second, then flicked the floor lamp off as well.

"Are you ready?"

"I guess so."

"Okay, then. Goodnight, Jack."

There was a loud gasp, then a thud. Jonathan flicked on the lights. Jack had fallen face first on the floor, a knife sticking out of his back.

_What happened? Where am I? Why can't I remember anything?_

Jack felt odd, as if he were floating. Colors flashed and blended in front of him. He felt numb and cold, as if he were frozen, yet he could easily move. Nothing seemed certain anymore - his depth perception, sense of direction, et cetera and so forth, all were either paralyzed or gone. He knew that he was dead; he had felt the knife enter his back, but it had been so quick that he had felt relatively no pain.

_What's that? A light? Okay, Jack, either you're dreaming or this is real, and right now I'm opting for the second choice._

Certainly Jack had heard stories about death and the afterlife, stories about how the soul would travel until it found the light at the end of the tunnel. _But some souls,_ he thought, _Don't make that transition. They become lost and turn back in a effort to find where they must go. And some simply believe that they haven't died yet and must go back. There they become trapped. I certainly don't want that to happen to me._

Through some effort and a bit of practice, Jack managed to find out how to 'swim' through this lifeless void and eventually got close enough to the light to see that it was actually a small orb of light with orange and purple swirling around inside of it, like a tiny galaxy that couldn't have been larger than Jack's hand. _Maybe,_ he thought, _This is a portal to another universe. Okay, Jack, that's just silly._ Regardless of this, Jack couldn't help but touch the light orb, shiny and bright as it was. As soon as he did, it grew into a large disk, now looking more like a portal than it had previously. _Is this really where I'm supposed to go?_ he thought, _What will it be like? Will I be different?_

Jack looked at the light disk in awe for a moment, then took a nonexistant deep breath, plunged head first into it, and quite literally stepped into another world.

End Flashback

_Jack: Now, you all better review this time, or I'll force Sugary to eat something far worse than a worm. And then I'll come find you and scare you out of your pants._

_Sugary: You got that from your song in the movie._

_Jack: Whatever!_


	3. 3: New Arrival

_I've noticed something a bit ironic here - last chapter was the first chapter's reviews. I got one. This is the second chapter's reviews. This time, I got two. Weird huh? Oh well, at least two is better than one. It's enough that I won't do anything too bad to Sugary. As for the reviewers:_

_phantomange113: _

_Jack: Interesting name, phantomange. Anyway, I'm glad you are enjoying the story. Sugary is not enjoying it as much, but that's only because she's being held hostage. She's such an insane Nightmare fan that when I first met her, she tackled me to the ground. O.o_

_Sugary: Oh, I did not! I hugged you and you fell. There's a difference!_

_flight815surviver:_

_Jack: Again, thanks for the comments. Don't worry, no more worms for Sugary, but that doesn't mean I won't do something worse! :)_

_Sugary: gulp!_

_Jack: She'll be fine. Just fine. evil grin_

_Now, this chapter is going to be rather on the lengthy side, because I meet my teacher in this chapter. Teacher of what, you may ask? You'll see..._

Flashback

Halloween Town Cemetary, 11:08 PM

The brightness vanished almost as soon as it had appeared and was quickly replaced by the absolute strangest surroundings Jack had ever seen. The first thing he noticed was that he was in some sort of graveyard, albeit a rather spooky and gothically inclined one. Sveral gravestones had been stuck into the ground at odd angles, and many were adorned with spiders, ghosts, and other creepy, unnerving images. Jack-O-Lanterns were placed at regular intervals, so as to guide someone walking around in the dark, although Jack couldn't imagine anyone who would want to walk around in a graveyard at night.

Jack blinked in confusion. This couldn't be his final destination. It didn't look ANYTHING like he had imagined. _This must only be a small part of it,_ he thought. _Maybe I'll find out more if I go further._

He continued to walk for what seemed like hours until he reached what appeared to be a hill, but instead of being a big hump in the ground like the real world, it curled under itself, creating a spiral, like a mountain with an oddly shaped peak. _Okay,_ Jack thought. _Dorothy is defanately NOT in Kansas anymore._ Curious, he climbed up to the top of it and looked out at the eerie landscape. There was a certain ethereal beauty to the landscaping, something that enticed Jack to come closer and begged him to leave it be at the same time. He looked on in awe, then noticed something off to his left-hand side.

_What's this? It looks like some sort of town,_ he thought, squinting to get a better look. _ Maybe there is someone there who can explain more about this place._ Jack took a step forward to see more detail, but as he did the ground beneath him shuddered and began to move slightly. Jack jumped back and watched as the hill suddenly unfurled itself. "That's odd," he thought aloud as he walked down the new earthen ramp created by the hill. As soon as he reached the bottom, the hill again curled into its spiral form. Jack smiled. He'd have to come back here sometime.

Pause Flashback

_And so I continued walking. As a matter of fact, I wandered so far that I ended up right at the gates of Halloween Town, though I did not know it at the time. But enough of that, you probably just want to continue the story, so..._

Unpause Flashback

Halloween Town, Main Gate, 11:45 PM

Jack walked up to the massive gate, rather appriehensive that it was so large. What was the town trying to keep in - or out? Or was it just there for the spooky quality of it, as it seemed it was?

A sudden voice jolted him out of his thoughts. "Oh," it said. "You must be the new arrival. We've been expecting you. And you're just in time - The Halloween festivities are just beginning!" The gate suddenly opened, and Jack, more than a bit confused, walked through it. He turned to say "Thank You", but strangely enough, there was nobody there. He turned back to the town and walked in, steeling himself for whatever might be there.

The town seemed to be hosting a massive party in honor of Halloween - it was quite obvious from the decorations, and also from what the disembodied voice had said, and it was also quite obvious that all of the guests were most definately not human. Jack was now quite scared as well as curious, and so he wandered into the crowd. Strangely enough, as soon as most of the townsfolk saw him, they stepped out of the way to make room for him, which was even more puzzling. _This is beyond weird,_ Jack thought as the crowd fell into a silent hush. Everyone stared at the clock above what appeared to be Town Hall and watched in mute excitement as the clock slowly turned to Midnight.

The crowd cheered and began singing along to some unrecognizable tune.

Jack was still confused and more than a bit freaked out as he back out of the crowd. He didn't know if this was even where he was supposed to BE, let alone where he was to go, and what was up with the singing? He backed up so far that he backed right into a trashcan.

Suddenly someone - or someTHING - popped out of in and yelled loudly at Jack. Needless to say, Jack freaked out and ran as far and fast as he could out of the town square, soon becoming hopelessly lost. Not wanting to have someone jump out at him again, he hid in a dark, empty allyway - after he checked it, of course.

_Where am I?_ he thought miserably. _Is this really supposed to be my new home? Did I take that dreaded wrong turn? Am I stuck here forever? What will become of me?_ Unable to take the pressure of possibly being lost in some sort of bizzare nightmare, Jack broke down and cried, only to be interrupted by a feminine voice asking "What's wrong?"

"Everything," Jack replied morosely. "I was killed and I think I'm lost in... whatever this is. And I'm terribly frightened."

"You poor dear," the voice said. "Here, let me see your hand a moment."

Jack held out one of his hands in order for whoever was speaking to see it. The person's skin felt strangely icy, but not in a bad way. The person let go of his hand after a moment, then said "No, you were meant to come here. What is your name?"

"I'm Jack," Jack replied. "Jack Skellington." He begain to search for the person.

"You aren't looking in the right spot," the voice said slyly. "Look up."

Jack looked up - and was instantly stricken with fear. The person he had been talking to was not really a person at all, but some sort of human-spider hybrid that was literally hanging by a thread upside-down. he screamed and staggered back a bit as the creature landed on all eight of its legs and laughed.

"W-w-who - and _what_ - are you?" Jack asked.

The creature scurried out of the shadows towards him.

"My name is Emily," it said. "Emily Thornn. It's nice to meet you, too. As for _what_ I am - well, that's a bit harder to classify. I'm sure you have a lot of questions, Jack. I can answer most of them for you. Follow me."

Emily scuttled beside Jack, already under pressure to keep up with Jack's long-legged strides. Jack in turn slowed down a bit whenever it appeared that Emily was beginning to get tired, so as not to outpace her and get lost again. Her eight legs moved in such a quick choreographed motion that it was almost like watching a wave on water.

Emily paused under the eerie glow of a streetlamp, both to show Jack the odd scenery and to rest her legs. The street they were on was lined with tall, foreboding-looking buildings that seemed to have faces of their own, as if they were watching the two travelers in malice.

Now that Emily was in a well-lit area, Jack could see her better. Her body was that of, as Jack had already noticed, a spider - a Black Widow spider, no less. He had seen a documentary once about poisonous animals on _Animal Planet_ once, so he already knew of its deadly bite. Emily's human half was garbed in a black top that laced at the front and had long, black fishnet sleeves. Her hair was black as well and streamed down her back like a cascade of ink. Her fingernails had been painted black, and she wore blood red lipstick. At least, Jack _hoped_ it was lipstick.

Her eyes were red, and noting but, like an alien's eyes, and they seemed to glow, standing out from her pale skin. She was beautiful, in an exotic, eerie way.

"I'm sure you're wondering exactly where you are," she said, smiling a grin full of wickedly sharp-looking teeth. "You've probably come from the human realm, what we here call the Real World, as you said that you had been killed." She gestured towards their spooky surroundings.

"This," she said, "Is Halloween Town. All you see here and have seen already is the realm of Halloween. This is the central hub of the universe concerning the fall holiday. This is where your - and everyone's - worst fears lie. The job of the townsfolk - you've met some of them, I'm sure - is to scare people. We aren't bad or evil at all, it's just our job.

"How did we get populated, you ask?" She turned to face Jack. "Certain humans, like you and I, are marked from birth to come here. They have special birthmarks that only other Halloween Townians can see. These people are savants - those people who never truely fit in anywhere, but always are intreaguing and interesting." She looked Jack right in the eys and said "Back when you were alive... did you ever feel... out of place? Like you weren't living in the right place?"

Jack gave her a slow nod. Emily turned her back to him once more and continued on.

"I've been watching you, Jack."

Again, Jack was shocked. Had Emily really been stalking him for his whole life? He tried to picture his childhood, but simply couldn't visualize Emily standing there beside him, watching over him like some strange, demented guardian angel.

"Of course I couldn't talk to you directly," she continued. "There are laws here that one must follow. So, I had to communicate to you through your dreams. Haven't you had nightmares before about spiders attacking you, or about human-spider people?"

Jack again thought back and again nodded slowly.

"Well," Emily explained, "That was me, checking in on you. But back to the symbols. You have been marked with a glowing symbol, and it differs from person to person. Mine is a spider. Yours is a skull. Thses show what the person's soul might look like in death. Most people's are plain, but yours and mine aren't." Emily took Jack out of the light and turned her palm upward to show Jack a shimmering violet spider. The abdomen of it had a tiny spiral inside of it. She then turned Jack's hand palm up.

It was difficult to make out the design at first, as Jack's eyes had to adjust to the dark, but soon an iridescent white skull glew on his own palm, its eyes holding tiny swirls.

"But Emily," Jack asked, "What does this all mean?"

Emily smiled thinly. "It's our job here to scare people," she said, "But I am perhaps the scariest resident. The swirl means that I am in charge of this holiday - the leader of it, if you will. Each holiday has an icon, but only a few change every so often. But Halloween has no one iconic leader. That's because there _is_ no one iconic leader. We change every few millennia or so - and my term's nearly up.

"Every holiday names its leader, as I'm sure you know. Here, the chosen person is given the title of Pumpkin King or Queen, depending if they are a boy or a girl. He or she is the absolute most terrifying person in the world, and they usually won't hesistae to scare the living crap out of any person. And you, Jack, are my predescessor."

"So let me get this straight," Jack said wishing that his head would stop spinning, "I'm the next ruler of Halloween?"

"That is correct.

"And that means that I'll someday be the most frightening person to ever live, die, and rise again?"

"Yes, with enough training."

"I hate to tell you this, Emily," Jack said, "But I'm not scary. In life, I was just a mild-mannered - though albeit eccentric - special effects worker from New York. I'm afraid I couldn't even freak out a fly."

Emily again grinned her wickedly sharp-toothed grin, then wiped the grime off of a nearby window.

"Take a look," she said. "You might just scare _yourself._"

Jack took a look and did indeed frighten himself with his own reflection. He was not wearing the pajamas he had died in, but a black tuxedo with white pinstripes and a tie that resembled a bat. Of course, it was not his clothes that spooked him, but himself. The image reflected of him was that of a cartoonish skeleton. Its shocked expression stared back at Jack before he fell back in horror.

"That's not me," Jack dismissed. Emily lead him into the dim glow of the streetlamp.

"Yes, it is," she said firmly. If you don't believe me, you can even look at your own two hands."

Jack looked at his hands and got another bolt from the blue. They had become cartooned and skeletal as well; he now had four fingers instead of the usual five, and these remaining four digits were slender and almost graceful, it seemed. he had been told stories about souls transforming after death. If this was his soul's new form, he'd have to learn to accept it.

"Okay, Emily," Jack said with fierce determination. "Teach me what you know. Teach me the art of the scare. I'm ready."

End Flashback

_Jack: Ooh, Cliffhanger! Well, not really..._

_Sugary: That made absolutely NO sense._

_Jack: Oh, shut up. throws random snake at Sugary_

_Sugary: Has snake wrapped loosely around her neck like a feather boa and is pretending to be a movie star_

_Jack: facepalm, repeatedly hits head against the wall Just review before I kill myself again by doing this..._


	4. 4: Jonathan goes insane: Jack's training

_Hello again. Oh, it would seem that we've gotten a review. Geez, does nobody go to the Nightmare section on anymore? Whatever. Anyway:_

_girlyraven14: _

_Jack: O.o uhm, okay... you're a Jack fangirl, I can tell, and I'm staying away from you! Thank you for your kind compliments, though. I'm glad you like this idea. Actually, Sugary came up with it and asked me to narrate, and I was going to turn her down, but then she insulted my narration skills, and so I kidnapped her and narrated the story so she could see just how good of a narrator I am. Yeah._

_Sugary: HELP! And I did NOT insult your narration skills!_

_Jack: No, but you did call my head big._

_Sugary: Well yeah, there's that..._

_Jack: Now we're going to check back up on that psycho, Jonathan, and see what HE was doing whilst Jack had his adventures in Halloween Town._

_Audience: canned applause_

_Jack: Isn't it funny how canned applause actually comes in cans?_

_Audience: open bottles of canned laughter_

_Sugary: O.o Strange. I always thought that canned laughter came in CANS. Hence the name CANNED laughter._

_Audience: more canned laughter_

_Jack: gets bored and starts the story_

Flashback

Real World, Jonathan's backyard

Jonathan stood in front of the bonfire pit, Jack's body at his feet. Only minutes ago he had tried to decide what to do with it. should he bury it? Shred it? Burn it? The last two would've offered no means of body identification, but...

No, he had decided. Burning it was cleaner.

Jonathan shoved pieces of wood and kindling into the ever-growing pile, enough to satisfy a termite for the rest of its life AND its offsprings' lives. He leaned down and picked up a canister of gasoline, pouring a good quantity over the wood and another good quantity onto Jack, then tossed the body on top of the wood and lit a match.

Unfortunately, Jonathan had never learned the rules of fire safety, for he had accidentally spilt some gas on himself, and as soon as the wood lit ablaze, so did a good part of his arm.

Jonathan yelped and ran into the kitchen, dousing water over the now very charred spot on his arm. It has burnt nearly down to the bone, but fortunately, third-degree burns were so searing that most of the nerves burned up with the skin. None-the-less, Jonathan would have to recieve medical help.

He peered into the backyard at the now blazing flames. Not a trace of any of his enemy's remains could be found. Jonathan grinned wickedly and picked up the phone, dialing 9-1-1.

"Hello, Police Department," the operator said.

"Yes, I need a paramedic here right away," Jonathan, so high on either the pain or having gotten rid of his enemy once and for all that he began to get dizzy. "I've been badly burnt all along my arm."

After saying those last few words, he blacked out.

* * *

"Sir? Are you alright?"

Jonathan awoke to find himself in a hospital room, a rather pretty young nurse at his side, tenderly wrapping his entire arm in gauze.

"I - I'm fine," he managed to stutter. "What happened?"

"You were found blacked out on the floor of your kitchen, sir, with heavy third-degree burns on your arms and shoulder. You were immediatley brought here and were given a skin graft. You should be fine within a few weeks, but there will be some permanant scarring, I'm afraid."

Jonathan smiled. It was a small price to pay for eliminating his enemy.

End Flashback

_Jack: Scary, No?_

_Sugary: Very. I guess you really are the master of fright after all._

_Jack: You know it! dances_

_Sugary: Okay, okay you can stop now._

_Jack: discos_

_Sugary: JACK! GET ON WITH THE STORY!_

_Jack: Okay, okay, don't yell at me! Sheesh!_

Flashback

Halloween Town, several months later

It was Jack's first day on 'The Field'. 'The Field' was simply a big, flat area made of cobblestones and slightly raised off of the ground a few inches, like a basketball court, and it was also where he'd learn the actual tricks he could conjure up using fear magic - that is, magic that could be used to create frightening images, or whatever the user wished to do.

Jack had spent the first two months learning about the basics of a scare route. Emily had taught him the S.C.A.R.E. method - Stop and think, Create a plan, Approach stealthily, Reveal yourself, Enact your plan - and about the three easiest ways to catch a person - In an enclosed area, behind their backs, and alone at night.

Then he had learned about the nature of Halloween itself - how it came to be, why children dressed up in costumes, when cnady was introduced into the mix, and other things. What Jack enjoyed learning about most, however, was its practices. He had never known, for instance, that people once used turnips instead of pumpkins for jack-o-lanterns, thinking them to ward off evil forces. He learned about the anatomy of bats and spiders, even dissecting specimins of both at some point, and he was taught telepathy, so he could make it seem like invisible spirits were carrying the item he was actually suspending in the air, and teleportation, so he could make mysterious, quick getaways and appear suddenly in front of someone.

He had been taught enough in the classroom. Now was the time to put it into action.

Jack strode onto the field, feeling confident that he could do whatever task Emily dished out.

"An image," Emily explained, "Is real in your mind. Fully tangible, able to be picked up and carried, and able to interact with things. This is also what occurs with a child's imaginary friend. The child knows their friend is real; they can see and touch the friend, even though others cannot. What I want for you to do, Jack, is try to picture your imaginary friend from your childhood. I know it's hard, as you cannot really recall your childhood all that well, but just try to envision him or her again, as if he or she were real once more."

Jack thought back to his childhood. His imaginary friend had been a dog, a blue dog, with green polka-dots and over-sized floppy ears with which it could fly. He had been unbelievably shaggy, so much so that one couldn't even see the dog's eyes under all that fur, and his name had been...

"Rags," Jack whispered to himself. Simply speaking the name of his childhood pal out loud was enough to evoke such strong memories that his thoughts involuntarily projected a rather flickery image of Rags onto the cobblestones.

Jack had surprised even himself, so he momuntarily broke his concentration and looked. The holographic Rags flickered, a sure sign it would soon disappear.

"Quickly!" Emily urged. "Think about him again. Remember him until you can truely say that you believe he is there!"

Jack quickly thought back to his childhood, trying to recall every memory he had ever had with his faithful friend that only he could see. Sure enough, the projected image became clearer, like a picture coming through static, then it became more solid, and soon, the projected image had its own shadow.

Jack may not have remembered Rags all too well, but Rags certainly remembered him, and could tell that the skeleton standing in front of him was his old friend, Jack. He yipped happily and jumped onto Jack, causing both to tip over.

"Rags!" Jack exclaimed as Rags slobbered all over him, giving him big, wet doggy kisses.

"I missed you, too," Rags said, jumping off of Jack and allowing him to get up. "You've changed a lot!"

"And you haven't changed a bit," Jack said. He leaned over to pet Rags, but as he did, Rags smiled and disappeared. Jack looked at the spot where his old friend had stood fondly. All this time he had forgotten about Rags, but Rags had never forgotten him.

"I'll miss you," he said to himself.

"Very good, Jack," Emily said, giving her pupil a small, thin smile. "Do you have any ideas as to what else this could be used for?"

Jack thought on this for a moment.

"A rope," he concluded, "Or a chain, so as to keep the scare victim from running off at first sight."

"Yes," Emily said. "You can also form it into a shield or weapon to defend yourself with if the time comes that you need to. Similar mind techniques can be used to camoflage yourself, other people, or even your surroundings with enough practice."

"So, I could think of myself becoming, say, a crow, and use this technique to make myself into it?"

"You could, if a crow was what you wanted to be."

"Like this?" Jack envisioned himself as a crow, flying high above the town. A strange prickling sensation spread over his entire body as he did so, and within five minutes he was hovering a few feet off of the ground, flapping his glossy, black-feathered wings. Emily stared at him in amazement.

"Oh, my God," she exclaimed. "It took me years to learn that. Extra credit!"

Jack, feeling rather cocky, spiraled high above Emily's head and silently landed behind her. Emily was too busy glancing up at the sky, trying to find him, to even notice as Jack let his ruse slip and became himself again. He carefully snuck closer to her and yelled "RAWR!" at her loudly, making her jump.

"Well then," she said in a rather frightened tone, "You certainly DO have a flair for this if you can scare me! I'm certain you'll do a great job taking care of this town when I retire.

"Now, next month is September, and you're going to be rather busy. You'll learn more skills, yes, but you'll also get more responsibilities, such as helping around the house. This is very serious business, Jack - this is your last month before we confirm the scare routes and you get yours, and also my last month as Pumpkin Queen. Your inaugerational ceremony is schedualed next week Wednesday.

"Today, as you know, is the last day of August. Next month you will learn the last tricks that you need to know, and I must confess that they are hard ones. If you can handle the harder moves I show you, however, you will be ready to prove everyone that you will make a good replacement for me. You just have to keep practicing. Just because you're getting stronger is no excuse for you to slack off."

Jack smiled. Perhaps this whole Jack-you're-going-to-eventually-rule-this-whole-town-and-its-holiday thing wouldn't be so bad after all.

End Flashback

_Jack: There, is THAT enough for you, miss critic?_

_Sugary: Yes, it is. You want those reviews, don't you?_

_Jack: Of course I do!_

_Sugary: Then you have to make the chapters long and entertaining! That's ONLY the fundimental rule of fanfictioning!_

_Jack: Okay, I'll do that! Now can I disco?_

_Sugary: rolls eyes, smiles NOW you can disco. hits switch, disco ball drops from ceiling_

_Jack disco dances_


	5. 5: The King has risen!

_Jack: Well, looks like I've got a fan of my writing._

_Sugary: You mean MY writing? I wrote the story, you're just narrating it._

_Jack: Don't mess with me, Sugary. Do you WANT to eat another worm?_

_Suagry: No, no, that's okay. I've had enough of worms to last me a lifetime, thank you._

_Jack: Anyway, we'd like to thank Flight815Surviver for being such a loyal fan. Her support spurs us on to write these chapters up more quickly!_

_Sugary: Plus it's fun to watch Jack flip out when she declares her fangirlism to him. evil smirk_

_Jack: gives Sugary an annoyed glance Here she is with some other comments._

_Flight815surviver:_

_Jack: Thank you for your reveiw, Lizzie._

_Sugary: I have a cousin named Lizzie!_

_Jack: rolls eyes And it's perfectly okay that you didn't review last chapter. I just don't like it when I don't get any reviews._

_Sugary: You mean when _I_ don't get any reviews._

_Jack: looks annoyed And yes, Sugary started it._

_Sugary: I DID NOT!_

_Jack: sighs, then waves hand and Sugary is now gagged Hostages. Why do they have to be so hard to keep quiet? reads rest of message, looks stunned Uh, well, um... thank you?_

_Sugary: Tries to stifle laughter Mmmhmmmhhhmmmmmm._

_Jack: She says that she loves snakes, thats why she pulled that little stunt last chapter. In reply to your other message, I'm glad that you are so fond of this stoy, now can you please stop hugging me and go back to the real world where you belong? Fangirls..._

_Sugary: again tries to stifle laughter, but fails_

_Jack: rolls eyes again_

_Jack: Okay, I'm going to skip. Again. To next week Wednesday in the story. If you don't like it, well, too bad. Here's the thing: It's the date of the meeting, and rhe entire town is there. I, however, the TOPIC of this announcement, am backstage. Why? I don't know, I just am, okay? You'll see in the story!_

- Flashback -

Next Week Wednesday

_This is stupid,_ Jack thought as he watched the audience from behind the curtain. _I want to be out there, not back here! I've already passed my training; why wouldn't I be allowed to go out there yet?_ THEY probably wanted to make sure he didn't get too nervous. THEY probably also thought that he would do a better job demonstrating his abilities if he appeared suddenly than if he were on stage. He had to admit, though, the latter was a good idea.

THEY were more than just Emily. THEY were the council in charge of leadership affairs, which meant that they helped the new leader train for their upcoming job, as well as prepare and work out their acts every year. Jack had met with some of them a few times, save for one. And they continuously hovered over him, making sure that he did his work correctly, and tutoring him if he didn't. Oh well, at least he'd be on stage soon enough.

"Excuse me, are you supposed to be back here?"

Jack spun around, wondering who was talking to him.

- Pause Story -

_Jack: Sugary, should I go whit what you've written as my dialouge here, or should I discribe Sally to the readers?_

_Sugary: thinks No, they all know what she looks like, and it would distract from the story._

_Jack: But isn't THIS disrupting the story?_

_Sugary: Oh yeah... Forget it then. Let's just hope that the Sally fans out there don't come and kill us. Well, me, anyway._

- Unpause Story -

"Oh, hello," Jack said. "And, yes, I was sent back here to wait for my cue. Are you a backstage worker?"

"Yes," The girl replied with a modest smile. "Well, for now anyway. I'm Sally."

"I'm Jack. It's noce to meet you."

A sudden cheer erupted from the audience, a clear indicator that it was time for Jack to go on stage.

"Come on, you're on in five!" Sally said hurredly. She grabbed Jack's hand and lead him quickly down a small corridor. At the end stood what appeared to be some sort of dumbwaiter.

"This will take you on stage," she explained. "Since you're the guest of honor, you'll ride this and end up looking like you've risen through the floor. I don't quite know how it works, but it'll get you to where you need to go." Jack stepped onto the platform.

"Okay, this switch will start the platform moving," Sally continued. "Remember - making a good entrance is key. Use any tactics that you can - bats, fog, the whole nine yards. Knock 'em dead."

"Thanks," Jack replied, pulling the lever and beginning the platform's decent.

* * *

The crowd watched in anxious anticipation as the lights dimmed and fog spread over the floor. Seemingly rising out of the fog that engulfed the stage's floor was someone they had never seen before - a smartly-dressed skeleton, his arms crossed as if rising from the grave.

The platform stopped, and the audience waited in suspense for something to happen.

Suddenly, in one fluid motion like a cobra striking, the preson on stage opened his eyes, whipped his arms out, and roared - literally. Of course, this scared the crap out of the audience members, but Jack wasn't done yet. He summoned ghosts and flew them towards the audience. He levitated items above him and threw them without ever even laying a hand on them. He did everything that he could before running out of ideas.

The audience watched him, beginning to calm down a little. Jack had to do something to make them scream, which they had yet to do.

_Wait. I've got an idea._

Jack thunk it over. It might just work.

He walked over to one of the torches on the wall, then did something seemingly crazy: he stuck his hand into it, lighting it on fire. Again, the audience flipped out, but this was still not the reaction Jack had hoped for. he then stuck his hand in his mouth, somehow transferring the flames into his head, which made his entire skull look like it was ablaze. Again, the audience freaked out.

But Jack wasn't finished with them yet. He needed to end this with a bang and seal the act. Without thinking, Jack took his head off and threw it at some poor unsuspecting audience member, who flipped out and threw it at someone else, who lobbed it someone else, and so on, and so on in a wild game of hot potato.

It ended a bit later when Jack caught his head in mid-flight and put it back on, sealing the act with a maniacal laugh. the performance caused the entire audience to cheer madly.

It was clear to all. A new king had risen.

- End Flashback -

_Jack: Liking the story so far?_

_Sugary: Yes, but I'd like it even more if you'd untie me!_

_Jack: I'll make a deal with you - if more than one person reviews this story, I'll untie you. If not, you stay tied up._

_Sugary: Fine. All you people out there had better get off your butts and come here and REVIEW, or else Jack will be paying you a little visit on Halloween this year._

_Jack: Sweet... evil grin_


	6. 6: Jack begins his scare route

_Jack: Well, I suppose THREE reveiws is better than what I WAS getting per chapter..._

_Sugary: Calm down, Jack, I'm sure that more people will review at the end of the story. Most people tend to do that._

_Jack: But that's so lame!_

_Sugary: Uhm, audience? Reading this? AS WE SPEAK?_

_Jack: Oh... right... Reviews._

_Phantomage113:_

_Jack: (discos) Don't worry, more is on the way._

_Gothichikie:_

_Sugary: Thanks. I'm glad you like my idea._

_Jack: Don't worry, I'll release Sugary soon... just as soon as the story is over. And, I swear, on my own grave, I will not feed Sugary any more worms. But a spider isn't out of the question. evil grin_

_Nirex:_

_Sugary: Again, I'm glad you like my story. Jack WAS supposed to lie low until he needed to do the narration, but SOMEBODY decided to go a little overboard. glares at Jack_

_Jack: Uh, well, yeah. About that... cough Anyway, Sugary will be fine. I've already promised Gothichikie that I wouldn't feed her any more worms._

_Sugary: On your own grave..._

_Jack: Yes. Way to point out the obvious, Sugary._

_Jack: Yes, in this chapter I get to scare the crap out of other people besides Sugary, and yes, it will start soon. Be aware, though, that about one eight of the way through, I'll be switching the story to the victims' perspectives. Hey, don't look at me, it's SUGARY'S story!_

_Sugary: I just felt that you shouldn't get all the spotlight, Jack. Hehe..._

_Jack: looks annoyed, starts chapter_

_-Flashback -_

(October 31st, Town Hall, 5:56 PM)

Jack stood on the stage, speaking clearly into his microphone. An eager crowd watched and listened as he planned out his scare route for the year. So far, it included his hometown of Albany, as well as towns in California, Michigan, and Kentucky. He had planned to hit Kentucky first, then go on to California and Michigan, and lastly hit Albany and get someone random there, maybe a couple people, if he had time.

"Now, I should be back a little before 11:30," Jack announced, "for the main celebration and closing ceremony." This last part was the one that excited him the most: he and Emily had practiced their routines all year for this night, and Jack was positive that his would end the night with a bang. He had gotten his idea after seeing how the audience had first reacted to his schtick with the fire; if THAT scared them, then how would they react if he were to set his entire body on fire?

Jack glanced upward at the clock. In a little less than five minutes, he'd have to leave. He left the Mayor to close the ceremony and left to start his route.

* * *

"Come on, Will!" 

"I'm not going in there!"

"Will!" Tom Coleman stood in front of the graveyard's main gate, an exasparated look in his hazel eyes. The fifteen-year-old impatiently tapped his foot. "We do this every year, and nothing bad has ever happened. What could possibly go wrong?"

Will, a dark-skinned boy of fourteen, inched closer to the gate, although he really didn't want to get any closer. Will might have seemed timid from our point of view, but he was a horror movie afficionado: If it was frightening, he'd probably already seen it twenty times and could tell you the plot by heart. Perhaps this is why he didn't want to enter this cemetary, on Halloween night, no less.

"Tom," he whined in a way that sounded like _Taaaah-umm._ "The bad guy _always_ goes after the people who are alone at night, and almost always attack in cemetaries!"

Tom sighed and lifted the hockey mask he was wearing as part of his Jason outfit. "Will, this is stupid," he said. "There's nothing to be afraid of. We live in the middle of Nowhere, Kentucky, what's the worst that could happen?"

Will hung his head and looked at the paper claws he had made for his Freddy costume. Perhaps Tom was right.

"Besides, Will," Tom continued as he squeezed between the iron bars of the fence, "We aren't little kids anymore. We've been going trick-or-treating by ourselves for the past four years, and we've always traded our candy in the graveyard."

"We said that we'd be back by nine."

"So? It's six now."

"_So?_ So it get's dark really early in the fall, Tom, especially here! The streetlights are broken down here, you know that!"

"Since when have you been afraid of the dark?"

"Since the streetlights down here were broken and we decided to sneak into a graveyard at night!"

Tom rolled his eyes and unlatched the main gate, then grabbed Will's arm and dragged him inside.

The cemetary was already pretty spooky-looking, filled with oddly-shaped trees and cracked headstones, but it became even more intimidating at night. The two boys wandered towards the far end of the cemetary, eventually finding a secluded area that had a large, flat platform with an angel monument watching over it.

"See?" Tom said, pointing at the angel. "Angels aren't scary, are they? You scared now that we have a big stone angel watching over us?"

Will looked up at the compassionate smile on the angel's stone face. He _did_ feel a little better. Will smiled and sat down on the platform. Tom followed suit, and both boys dumped the cabdy out of their pillow cases.

"What'll you give me for two Caramels?" Tom asked.

"But you love caramels," Will said. "they're your favorite!"

"I know," Tom said morosely. "I do love caramels. But I just got braces last week." He smiled to show Will the shiny brackets and orange and black ties.

"Oh. Well, then give me the caramels and a piece of your gum, and I'll give you two mini butterfingers and tree gobstoppers. I'll raise you a crunch bar if you add in the caramel apple pop, too."

"Deal."

This method continued on for a bit, and eventually the boys ended their candy stock market and got to talking. Will was not feeling any better, however, and now even the stone angel couldn't comfort him. Eventually, he began to feel the unpleasent seneation of feeling watched.

"Tom," he said, causing Tom to stop speaking for the moment, "I'm beginning to feel nervous. What fi someone catches us here?"

"Nobody's going to catch us," Tom dismissed. There's nothing here that can hurt us! The people here are DEAD, Will. D-E-D, DEAD. Dead people can't hurt the living."

An owl hooted loudly above the two teens, startling them.

"But just in case," Tom said, "maybe we SHOULD leave." He stood up and began to walk off, but suddenly tripped over something.

"Stupid tree root!" he yelled, brushing the dirt off of his now bruised knee.

"Tom," Will said nervously.

"Someone oughta clean up the tree roots back here. Someone could trip like I just did!"

"Tom!"

"What?"

"That isn't a root."

"What do you mean it's not a -" Tom started, but as he glanced down, he could see that Will was right. This was no root.

Clasped around his ankle was a skeletal hand.

Tom yelled out in sinister surprise and amazement and tried to break free, only to succeed in pulling what appreared to be an entire human arm out of the ground. Now more than a bit freaked out, he pried it free from his ankle and threw it hard across the graveyard.

"You were right," Tom said in a nervous voice, "Let's get out of here!" The boys scooped up their pails and ran back the way they had come.

About halfway between the gate and the stone angel monument, they were stopped in their tracks by a rather nicely-dressed skeleton.

"Hello, boys," it said, taking a step towards the terrified youngsters. "Nice evening for a stroll, isn't it?"

Both boys screamed and ran the other way - or tried to, at least. They hadn't even gotten halfway to the main gate before they felt something tighten around their arms and chests and drag them backwards. They both glanced down and saw that they were now bound in ropes of chains, with the skeleton holding the other ends.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry," their undead captor said without remorse. "Did I frighten you?" He gave both boys an eerie smile and snapped the ends of the ropes, sending the boys flying towards a nearby tree. The chains wrapped around the trunk and seemed to fuse together, effectively trapping Tom and Will, who immediately tried wriggling in order to free themselves.

"Please don't struggle," the skeleton said as it strode towards its captives. "It only makes things worse for you both."

"What do you want with us?" Tom yelled.

"We're sorry that we were on your grave," Will yelled. "please don't hurt us!"

The skeleton gave both boys a terrible, knowing smile. "That wasn't _my_ grave," it said, sweeping both hands up. Suddenly, several dozen ghosts sprang from the ground and spiraled around the trapped boys.

"It was _theirs_," the skeleton concluded, snapping his fingers suddenly. The two teens fell to the ground, freed from their bonds. Needless to say, they hightailed it out of the cemetary, not even bothering to lock the main gate on their way out.

* * *

"Will?" 

"Yes, Tom?"

"You were right. We shouldn't have gone there in the first place."

The boys now trudged down thier darkened street, wishing that they still had their candy. They couldn't go home empty-handed; it'd look too suspicious, and they couldn't just go get more, the neighbors would think that they were just trying to mooch off of them again and again. The two friends sighed and sat on a bench where another man read the newspaper.

"And we lost our pillow cases too. What are our parents going to say about that?" Tom asked. "Hey, maybe we could go get them?"

"What? Are you crazy?" Will yelled. "No, we aren't going back there, Tom."

"Well, then maybe we could tell our parents that we had our candy get stolen or it got lost."

"Or we could say that we ate it all on the way back."

"Or," said the man with the newspaper, "You could tell your parents the truth." The man turned a page.

"I doubt even YOU would beleive our story, sir," Tom said miserably.

The man chuckled. "Don't be so skeptical," he said. "You never know what someone might believe." He folded the newspaper back up and set it next to him.

The boys gasped. There sat the skeleton man from the graveyard.

"I assume you are looking for these?" he held out the two pillow cases of candy. "Take them; I certainly have no use for them."

The teens were both a bit reproachful, but eventually realized that they would not be harmed and each took their pillow cases.

"Thank you," Will said as he checked to make sure that all of his candy was still there.

"You're very welcome." The skeleton stood up and began to walk off.

"Oh, and boys?"

"Yes?"

"Happy Halloween."

With this last comment, the skeleton dissappeared in a swirl of mist.

"Tom?"

"Yeah, Will?"

"I'm thinking we should keep this to ourselves."

"Of course." Tom looked back at where the skeleton had been standing only a moment ago.

"After all," he said, "Who would believe a story like ours?"

_- End Flashback -_

_Jack: Who indeed? (ponders)_

_Sugary: (ponders)_

_Jack: See ya next chapter!_


	7. 7: Stacy and the Masquerade ball

_Jack: Woah! This just in: We've gotten a massive flood of reviews!_

_Sugary: I told you, Jack. You just gotta have a little faith, that's all. Let's see who has responded, shall we?_

_Flight815surviver:_

_Sugary: Thank you very much for your comments!_

_Jack: Are you sure you won't go back? Not even for a cookie?_

_Sugary: I doubt it. Trust me, I know fangirls. I am one. Hey, you like Lost, too?_

_Jack: Also, and I think I've specified this, Sugary will go home after the story is done. But I will untie her. 'unties'_

_Sugary: Jeez, could you have MADE the knots any tighter?_

_Jack: Yes, actually. And I'm glad you like the laugh, by the way. Interesting comment._

_Sugary: In response to your other review, Jack needs to share the limelight. He already does with six other Holidays and their leaders. He needs to do it here, too. Thank you, though._

_Jack: And you're welcome. We're actually quite proud to bestow upon you this - the best "Origins" reviewer award! 'canned applause'_

_Sugary: Go you!_

_WhippedCream:_

_Jack: Heads up, Sugary, we've got a new one._

_Sugary: Oh, cool!_

_Jack: I'm glad you liked the "head-thingy-part". It happens again. But not this chapter, sorry._

_Sugary: 'Jack imitation' "Hi, My name is Jack, and I'm a taking-off-my-head-aholic!"_

_Jack: Cut it out! Or I'll tie you up again! 'evil grin'_

_GirlyRaven14:_

_Jack: Uhhh... okay... O.o 'steps away from GirlyRaven14'_

_Sugary: I'm afraid there won't be much in the way of JackXSally in this story. But I have written a songfic that is JackXSally called "Right Here". You might like that. 'Shameless self-advertising'_

_Jack: 'reads GirlyRaven14's other comment' O.o 'steps even further away from GirlyRaven14'_

_Jack: Uhm, okay, before things begin to get even MORE disturbing than they already are, let's start the story._

_Sugary: Fangirls. 'evil grin'_

_Jack: 'screams like little girl' START THE STORY. **NOW!**_

_Sugary: 'blinkblink' 'shrugs' 'logs onto computer and starts playing Myst' Yeah, so I'm a computer nerd. Gimmie a break! Now shut up so I can figure out how to get to the next age..._

_Jack: O.o You still play Myst? Dang, you need to upgrade your computer!_

_Sugary: Jack! You're making me lose my focus! And besides, this is my MOM'S computer. Her OLD one. And it's the only one that Myst will work on._

_Jack: Uhm, okay... 'sits down; watches Sugary play Myst' You try putting Riven on your PC yet?_

_Sugary: Nope, can't find it. I think it's at my dad's house. Now be quiet so I can figure out this pattern._

_Jack: Just a little disclaimer notice here: Sugary does not own Myst, Riven, or The Nightmare Before Christmas. While Sugary relives her time as a little kid in the 90's, I'll just start the story. 'starts story'_

_-Flashback-_

Sacremento, California, 8:00 PM

Stacy was not a particularly noticable girl. She didn't wear outrageously bright or dark outfits. She didn't get amazing or extremely poor grades. She didn't have braces, glasses, or anything else like that. And she didn't have a boyfriend.

Perhaps this is why she also didn't have a date to the annuel Halloween Masquerade Ball that the community center hosted every year. She parked her red, four-door Ford near the door, planning not to stay long - parties always made her feel overwhelmed. The sixteen-year-old sighed as she looked up at the building. She didn't even know why she went every year; probably because A, her friends always went, even though Stacy never saw them there, B, there was free food there and Stacy was a big eater, even though she was quite thin, and C, she could at least TRY to meet a guy her age. Not that she would see his face; this WAS a masquerade ball, after all.

Stacy began to walk up the steps of the community center. Some people had very interesting outfits - birds, insects, animals, and assorted people who looked like they had just stepped out of a Mardi Gras parade. Stacy's own outfit was harder to classify. She was going as a... well, she didn't really know. She was wearing a flowing purple dress decorated with silver stars, with shimmery fabric over the dress itself. Her long, dirty blonde hair was pulled back into a neat bun, and her mask was purple with silvery sequins on it in interesting patterns, along with purple and green feathers sticking out of the top. When she had picked out the outfit, she had done so only because purple was her favorite color.

_I suppose,_ she thought, _I look like a goddess. Yeah, that's good. I'm a goddess of the night._

She entered the center and almost went back outside. The noise, fog, and flashing lights were almost too much. She decided that she'd stay for an hour, then leave before the stimulation got to be too much for her.

The main hall was packed with dancers, and a D.J. was playing some sort of dance mix. Most of the guests Stacy could recognize, but the rest appeared to go to another school. She smiled and looked around with her hazel eyes. Maybe she would meet someone that she clicked with.

A snobbish voice jarred her out of her thoughts.

"Well, if it isn't miss Stacy nobody," it said. Stacy didn't have to turn around to see where the voice was coming from. _Sharon,_ she thought. _Not her again!_ Sharon was the most popular girl in school, and there was nothig that she liked better than to flaunt it in everyone's face. All the boys wanted her. All the girls wanted to BE her. And she was quite possibly the most self-centered being in existance. Stacy longed to give her a good, strong punch, right in the middle of her smug little face.

"Hello, _Stacy,"_ Sharon said, emphasizing Stacy's name rediculously.

"Hello, _Sharon,_" Stacy said in an equally snobby tone. "To what do I owe the displeasure of your company?"

"And _what_ are you supposed to be? A big, purple bird?" Some of her followers laughed at this comment.

"Maybe she's a big, purple chicken," one sneered, causing yet more laughter from the group.

"Stacy the chicken, how fitting," Sharon said. "At least I'm going as something pretty." She gestured to her leopard outfit.

"Oh yeah, pretty," Stacy replied in a caustic tone. "You're pretty, alright. Pretty _ugly._"

Sharon's followers gasped in shock. Sharon's face turned red from anger.

"It's a good thing that you're wearing that mask," Stacy continued. "Hot date with the Hunchback of Notre Dame, I see."

Some of Sharon's followers giggled at this, warrenting sharp glances from Sharon.

"See you later," Stacy said, walking off. "That is, if my eyes don't melt from having seen your face!"

Peals of laughter came from Sharon's followers. There was a sharp _smack!_ sound. Stacy grinned as she walked further into the dancing crowd. _Someday,_ she thought, _you'll get what you deserve. And it'll be something far worse than worthless mudslinging._

Stacy didn't notice the oher person until she ran into him. Both fell to the floor. Stacy glanced up to see Sharon and her ditzy friends laughing their smug little heads off.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" she said, helping the person up.

"No, no, it's okay," he said, brushing the dirt off of his tuxedo jacket. "It wasn't your fault. I wasn't watching where I was going. Here, I'll get you some punch." He escorted Stacy over to the snack table and poured two glasses of the fruity drink, one for Stacy and one for himself. "I'm only sixteen," he explained, handing one to Stacy. "So I'm not allowed to drink yet. My name is Jack, by the way."

"Nice to meet you," Stacy said. "I'm sixteen, too. My name is Stacy." She sipped the sweet, fizzy mixture of Hawaiian Punch, Sprite, and ice cubes with plastic insects in them. "I go to Red Pines High. Where do you go to school at?"

"Nowhere, I'm homeschooled."

"Oh."

The D.J. switched songs, this time to a mix of recent hits.

"Do you drive?"

"Yes. I just got my liscense this past May."

"Really?" Jack took a sip of his drink. "What kind of car do you drive?"

"A four-door Ford," Stacy said, feeling a little embarrassed. "I hate it, it's so ugly!"

"No, no, that's okay. It's nothing to be ashamed of. My car's worse than that."

"What do you drive?"

"A Black Stationwagon."

"No, really?"

"I'm dead serious. At least it's in a color I like."

"I know, TELL me about it!"

Both teens laughed. The lights suddenly dimmed and the D.J. put on a slower tune.

"Oh, I love this song!" Stacy said.

"I don't mind it," Jack said, looking out at the dancing couples.

There was silence for a moment.

"Stacy," Jack said, obviously nervous, "would you... maybe... dance with me?"

Stacy smiled, a little nervous herself. "I'd love to," she said quietly. The teens strode onto the dance floor.

"Uhm, I've never danced with a boy before," Stacy said, a bit apprehensive.

Jack smiled. "It's okay," he said. "This is my first time, too. Back where I come from, though, we do it like this." He took Stacy's hands in his, then placed them on his shoulders and took her by the waist, rocking slowly back and forth.

Stacy felt flighty as she looked into Jack's icy blue eyes. This was unlike anything she'd ever felt. She had never really believed in love at first sight, but if it was true...

She couldn't tell. It was just her. Just her and those hypnotic blue eyes.

The song ended seemingly abruptly, and she felt like she had been jerked out of a deep sleep as Jack grabbed her by the hand and lead her into a separate room. He looked around, noticing a small, dark closet. He and Stacy entered the closet and shut the door.

"Ooh, you want to do something," Stacy said, giggling. "I hope that you have the proper, er, _items_, if you know what I mean." She giggled.

"Uh, um, no, actually. I just wanted to see what you look like under that mask of yours. I'm not ready for that sort of thing."

"Okay then. Uh, how are you going to see in the dark?"

"I have a flashlight."

"And why the dark closet?"

"Oh, just so we have a little privacy, that's all.

"So you DO want -"

"No. Why, do you?"

"No! Of course not, we just met. I was just saying that if YOU did, you should have the right tools."

"Stacy, could you not bring that up?"

"Oh, sorry."

"That's okay."

"Okay, you go first."

Stacy took her mask off and let down her hair. She reached out to tap Jack's hand, but when she did, she pulled back. It felt cold and hard, like stone.

Stacy was puzzled, but replied "I'm ready."

Jack flicked the light on. The light was shining directly in her eyes, so she couldn't see anything except for part of Jack's outline and a few boxes. It was hard to tell, but he seemed different from before.

"You're very pretty," he said modestly.

"Thank you," Stacy replied, although she seemed nervous. Jack flicked off the light and handed Stacy the flashlight. In the dark, she could hear him remove his mask.

"Okay," came the reply. "I'm ready."

Stacy flicked the light on and gasped in shock. Jack was wearing his same outfit, but had turned into a skeleton.

"Very funny, Jack," Stacy said, shaking her head. "Take off your costume!"

"It's not a costume," Jack said, a serious look on his face.

"Of course it is!"

"I swear, Stacy, it's not!"

"Jack, you're scaring me!"

"Stacy..."

"Come on!" She grabbed Jack's hand and pulled, thinking it was a glove. "This is a strangely realistic outfit."

It didn't budge.

Confused, Stacy gave a final, strong tug and tumbled backwards. To her great surprise and shock, she was still holding her date's hand - although it was no longer attatched to the rest of him.

Stacy screamed louder than she ever had before and fumbled with the door knob, onyl to realize that the door had been locked from the outside. She pounded on the wooden door, hoping to attract some attention. Of course, nobody came by to check.

Jack strode over to the panicking teen. "Stacy," he began, "I-"

"Get away from me!" Stacy yelled, throwing Jack's hand at him as hard as she could. Jack sighed and reattatched it to his wrist, then flicked on the light inside the closet.

"P-p-please," Stacy cried, tears welling in her eyes, "Don't hurt me!"

"Dear girl," Jack said reassuringly, "I'm not out to hurt you. If you would just let me explain -"

Stacy suddenly flopped over in Jack's arms, crying miserably.

"I didn't mean to scare you that badly!" Jack said, surprised at her sudden outburst.

"No," Stacy said, wiping her eyes, "It's not that, although I have to admit, you did get me good, whatever you are. It's this girl from my school. Her name is Sharon. Every time I try to be nice to a guy, she either takes him from me or spreads nasty rumors about me so that he doesn't want to go out with me! And now, when I've finally found a boy that Sharon DIDN'T try to take from me, I find out that he's dead!" Stacy began to weep again, her body racked with sobs.

"There, there," Jack said as comfortingly as he could. "It's okay. It sounds like this girl has had it coming to her for a while. I'm not really supposed to do this... but I could give her a little wake-up call for you. I'm going to need your help, though. Here's what we'll do..."

* * *

"Shut up!"

"But I was only trying to -"

"I never want to see you again! You loser!"

"But, Jack, I -"

"I said go away!"

Sharon watched as Stacy ran off crying. Now was her chance to go talk to the guy.

* * *

Sharon had taken the bait. Jack's plan had worked. Faking the mean guy bit, that was good, she had to admit, but the fake fit of tears really sealed the deal. Stacy sneaked out to the courtyard and watched the drama unfold.

* * *

The moon glowed brightly in the Autumn sky. Stars twinkled down through the trees that shaded Sharon and her recent date. The cobblestoned floor and small stone bench made for romantic stage settings.

"Oh, Jack, you're such a lady's man," Sharon flirted.

"Why thank you. You're quite lovely as well."

Sharon blushed.

"I, er, have something for you," Jack said, taking a small box from his pocket. "I think you might like it. I know I will. Could you just back up towards that tree there? A bit further - there, that's perfect."

Sharon opened the box and instantly screamed as a long tendril of rope shot out of it and wrapped itself around her and the tree's trunk.

"Jack," she asked, "What are you -"

Jack had enveloped himself in a white mist, and as the mist Cleared, Sharon could've sworn that she was standing face-to-face with...

_A skeleton._

Sharon screamed again, this time much more loudly, as bats swooped towards her and pulled away to roost up in the trees somewhere.

"Sharon." she shivered as Jack said her name. "Sharon," he repeated, "You are familiar with a girl named Stacy?"

"Y-yes, but -"

"And you are the one who tries to get with any boy that she manages to talk with?"

"Well, I -"

"And _WHY_," Jack yelled suddenly, flames exploding around him, "Would you do that sort of thing to someone who had done _nothing_ to you?"

"You don't understand!" Sharon screamed, tears running down her cheeks. "She's a NOBODY! How could they choose _her_ over _me?_"

The flames died down. "Oh, so that's your logic, is it?" Jack asked, drawing closer to his prisoner. "Well, then, I understand perfectly now."

Sharon looked surprised, as if she were not sure if Jack were going to hit or complement her. "You do?"

"Of course I understand." He smiled and stood back. Flames suddenly burst around him again. "I understand that you are an overbearing know-it-all with no concern for others!"

"But she's nothing!"

"She's nicer than you will ever be." Jack allowed the flames to die down again. "Perhaps the boys choose her over you because she isn't pushy and selfish."

"I'm not pushy and selfish!" Sharon spat. Jack walked over to her, an eerily calm look on his face.

"I beg to differ." he grinned evilly and pulled back a bit. "I'm sorry that you've found yourself in this position, but you must learn to be nicer. I'm afraid I'll have to give you a piece of my mind."

With this, he pulled an actual human brain out of his pocket and threw it at Sharon, who closed her eyes and screamed bloody murder, struggling to free herself.

When she opened her eyes, both the brain and her captor were gone.

But then why did she have the sneaking suspicion that someone was right behind her?

Suddenly, a pair of hands clapped around her head, followed by images so terrifying that she couldn't scream at all. Closing her eyes only made the images more vivid and disturbing. She felt the color drain from her face and her blood turn to ice, but she couldn't do a thing.

"Sharon," Jack said, his voice echoey in Sharon's waking nightmare. "You do realize why I am doing this to you, don't you?"

Sharon could not respond. Jack let go of her head and in one swift motion freed her from her bonds. Sharon's legs buckled and she fell onto the cobblestones, strangely exhausted.

Jack looked down at her. "You are one of the lucky ones," he said in a voice as cold as ice. "I could have killed you with that last stunt. But I didn't. I prefer to keep my victims alive." He grinned wickedly at this last comment. "Go. Apologize to the girl you have treated so terribly. Or we shall meet again soon."

A swirl of bats surrounded him, and he was gone. Sharon stood on shaking legs, hardly able to move for a moment. She stared at the spot where her captor had been. A rustle of leaves startled her, and she ran fast. then faster, into the building.

* * *

Stacy absentmindedly doodled on an orange napkin she had snitched from the snack bar. She loved to draw, and she was quite talented at it, but few people knew this, least of all the girl that ran towards her calling her name.

"Stacy!" Sharon yelled. "Stacy!" The two girls collided and both fell to the floor. Sharon pulled her to her feet and shook her vigorously.

"Stacy, Stacy, you won't believe what just happened!" she said.

"What now," Stacy said chidingly. "You broke a nail? Ripped your costume, maybe?"

"No, it's even scarier than that!" she said, shaking her head wildly. "You know that guy? The one you danced with earlier?"

"Jack?"

"Yeah, that's the guy."

"What about him?"

"He and I were outside just a few minutes ago, and the most amazing thing happened!"

"Spit it out!"

Sharon lowered her voice to a whisper. "Stacy," she said in hushed fright, "That guy - he turned into a skeleton!"

Stacy scoffed and shrugged Sharon's hands off of her shoulders.

"Sharon, you must have been seeing things. The dead can't walk the earth! Are you sure you've been drinking punch all night long?"

"Stacy, please," Sharon begged. "I'm totally serious!"

Stacy laughed and shook her head. "Why don't I drive you home? We'll tell your friends what happened. I think you might have had a little too much to drink."

"But -"

"Sharon, come on!"

Sharon sighed. Nobody would believe her story. It was too far-fetched.

"Will you believe me," she said finally, "If I tell you I'm sorry?"

"I'll consider it," Stacy replied, allowing herself a small smirk as she continued her drawing. "Now, you say it was a skeleton you saw, right?"

"Yes."

"Did he look anything like this?" She revealed her drawing of Jack to Sharon who jumped back in surprise and fright.

"Y-yes! That's exactly it! But how did you know?"

"I was hiding in a shrub during your little haunting. I know all about it. I won't tell if you won't."

"Deal."

Stacy looked at her drawing. "Did he say anything else?"

"He said that if I didn't apologize, I'd see him again."

"Well, maybe that was partially true. You keep the drawing. I have tons more at home. Think of it as a souvenier of how weird this night was."

Sharon took the drawing and looked at it long and hard. The skeleton was in mid-stride, its mouth slightly open, as if it were singing or talking.

For a split second, she could've sworn the drawing had winked at her.

"Hey, did that drawing just -"

"It's Halloween night, Sharon," Stacy inturrupted, a small smile on her face. "Anything can happen."

-End Flashback-

_Sugary: That seems terribly similar to my situation, Jack._

_Jack: Well, um, er..._

_Sugary: Do you ALWAYS tie up your victims?_

_Jack: No, no, not always. As a matter a fact, next chapter we'll explore a time when I DIDN'T, and it might just ring a few bells for you, Sugary._

_Sugary: Hmmm... Anyway, thanks again to all of our loyal reviewers. Your support helps us both greatly._

_Jack: Except when they're from rabid fangirls._

_Sugary: Keep those coming, too. They're highly entertaining. Hehe..._


	8. 8: The Sleepover

_Jack: Ahh, yes, yet another pair of reviewers._

_Sugary: You're still happy about the flood of reviews last chapter, aren't you? Or are you just happy to see me?_

_Jack: Yes. Anyway, here they are._

_Flight815Surviver:  
Jack: Nice to see you again!_

_Sugary: You're a "totally great" reviewer! -cheerleader chants-_

_Jack: You think I'm "totally great"? C'mere, I LOVE YOU! -huggles-_

_Sugary: Wow, I never thought I'd live to see the day that Jack would do that to a fangirl. I'm a fangirl, Jack. You never huggle ME like that._

_Jack: That's because you don't say nice things about me._

_Sugary: Yes I do!_

_Jack: Name one nice thing that you've said to me over the course of this story._

_Sugary: Well, um, there's... HUGGLE ME OR I'LL SIC THE FANGIRL MOBS ON YOU AGAIN!_

_Jack: Eep! -Huggles Sugary-_

_Sugary: Schawheet. And thanks for saying that you liked Sharon's punishment. I have people like that in my school as well. It certainly is fun being a writer, isn't it?_

_Jack: I think I'll get you a shirt next Christmas that says "Be nice or I'll put you in my fanfiction"._

_Sugary: As for me getting some actual food - I'm thinking Arby's! -packs some money and goes to Arby's-_

_Nirex:_

_Jack: Hello again! Sugary just went to Arby's, so she's not here. I'm glad you liked my tactic for dealing with Sharon._

_Sugary: I'm baaa-aaack! And I brought ten Arby melts!_

_Jack: Sweet! -Takes bag, little Arby's symbol goes over head-_

_Jack: Okay, while Sugary and I enjoy our many Arby Melts, why don't you go on to the next chapter? _

_Sugary: That takes place in my hometown!_

_Jack: I'm sure that's MUCH more interesting than watching us eat._

_Sugary: Jack, quick question - how can you actually EAT that? You don't have a stomach or anything._

_Jack: Well, it's really quite simple. You see..._

_-Flashback-_

Grand Rapids, Michigan, 9:08 PM

"That was great!"

"It was _seriously_ scary."

"I think it's better than the redone one."

It was a chilly and windy night in Grand Rapids, and the three girls were just coming home from the movies. They had finished their trick-or-treating early enough to head down to the local theater and check out the special presentation of the original "Amityville Horror".

Rachel, the girl with the medium-length chestnut brown hair, was thirteen, making her the oldest. She was excellent with computers and could probably reformat a harddrive single-handedly. She even had her own laptop, which, to her great joy, allowed her favorite computer game - _Myffed_ - to be played on it. She also was excited that her parents had allowed her to have a sleepover tonight of all nights, and even let the girls check their own candy, so they were pretty much free to devour as much of it as they wanted. Rachel smiled as she thought of the sugar-high that all of that sugar would produce.

Ashley, Rachel's best friend since Kindergarten, was twelve and was an absolute genius with fashion. She could take an old pair of jeans, cut off and fray the bottoms, add some sequins in nice patterns and have a brand new pair of capris. She had even made her own costume! She was always dressed nicely, although her frizzy brown hair indicated her wild, fun-loving side. Ashley was a bit more serious than Rachel, but still had a great sense of humor.

Jesse, Rachel's other good friend, was also twelve, and if you didn't know her well, you'd say that she probably had ADD. Jesse was an amazing artist, and wore her brownish-black hair almost down to her butt. Some could call her hyper. Others might say that she was crazy. But she always danced to the beat of her own drum, even though it could sometimes get her into trouble.

"Ashley," Rachel began, "You should've seen the look on your face when -"

"Don't say it!" Ashley yelled.

"Oooooooh... Ashley got scared!"

"I heard you scream, too!"

"I don't know," Jesse butted in, "you both looked pretty spooked to me."

"Oh, shut up."

"Bawk-bawk-ba-bawk!"

"That isn't funny, Jesse!"

"Ashley and Rachel are chickens! Bawk-bawk-ba-GAWK!"

"Chickens don't go like 'Ba-GAWK'," Ashley said, rolling her eyes.

"Rachel screamed so loud it hurt my ears!"

"SHUT UP! I did not!"

A sudden rustling of leaves startled the girls.

"What was that?" Ashley asked, obviously trembling in fear.

"NOW who's the scared one?" Rachel said accusingly. The rustling came again, louder this time; more insistant. "Oh my God!"

"It's a monster!" Jesse said in an odd tone. "He's gonna eat us all ALIVEEEEEEEEeeeee..."

The three girls stood there, scared out of their wits, as something jumped from the nearby bushes and yelled "RAWR!" The young women screamed loudly as the figure laughed evilly.

"Awww, is da wittle babies scared?" the figure asked in a voice that seemed strangely familiar to Rachel.

"Oh, God, Trevor," Rachel said, "Leave us alone! You nearly gave us heart attacks!"

Trevor was Rachel's high school Sophomore brother, an annoying kid who could never seem to shut up. His short spiky dark brown hair stuck up at odd angles, and his black T-shirt and black pants only added to the effect of him seeming evil.

"Why should I leave you alone?" Trevor asked, faking sweetness. "I wouldn't want you to get hurt by all the mean, scary monsters out there. I wuv my baby sister."

"I'm NOT a baby," Rachel said defiantly. "I swear, Trevor, someday your parents are going to find all of those porn pictures on your computer, and boy, will they be mad then."

"You wouldn't tell them, would you?"

"Of course not. But I might seriously screw with them if you don't back off."

"Make me!"

"Mom!"

"Okay, okay." He backed off a bit, but not much. "Just be careful tonight. You never know what might happen." With that, he ran off, feigning evil laughter again.

"Trevor is SUCH a weirdo," Ashley said finally. "All he ever wears is black. It simply doesn't do a thing for his skintone. He looks too pale."

Rachel looked at Ashley for a moment.

"And why," she asked, "Do you care about his skintone?"

Jesse grinned eagerly. "Because she LIKES him!"

"Ew, I do not!"

"Yeah, you do!"

"Stop!"

"Ashley and Trevor, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

Ashley sighed. It was no use stopping Jesse when she got in the mood.

* * *

"Jesse, do you need help setting up your sleeping bag?" 

"No, I'm good, thanks."

"Ashley?"

"I've got it."

The girls were currently setting up their sleeping bags in Rachel's living room. It was far too chilly to sleep outside, as they had planned, and it was also too windy for a bonfire. They still planned to tell scary stories, though, although they wouldn't be able to do it around a bonfire like they had wanted.

"Why don't I make some S'mores in the microwave?" Rachel asked, "Or would you rather just order pizza?"

"Naw, I'm not that hungry."

"Me neither."

"Okay. We can check and trade candy, too." Rachel entered the kitchen and began to get out the supplies.

"Do you want me to go get my Ouija board?" Jesse asked. "Halloween night is supposed to be the best night for... Ouija-Boarding."

Ashley made a strange noise like a laugh and scoff combined. "Ouija-Boarding?" she asked. "That sounds like an extreme sport. Besides, we all know that stuff isn't real."

"DO we? Can we for sure say that ghosts don't exist?"

"I can."

"The S'mores are ready!" Rachel called as she entered the doorway. "Now, what's all thins yelling about a Ouija board?"

"Oh, Jesse thinks that she can contact ghosts with it," Ashley said. "I can't say I believe her."

"Ghosts?" Rachel asked as she set the plate of S'mores down. "Really?"

"Yeah. I've tried it before," Jesse said. "And it worked."

"That's pretty creepy."

"Yeah, I know."

"That's exactly what makes it the perfect activity for tonight!"

"Oh my God, you two are SO gullible!"

Rachel and Jesse looked at her for a moment.

"Why are you being so nasty tonight?" Rachel asked. "Are you scared that something bad'll happen?"

"No!" Ashley dismissed. "No. It's just... I have this gut feeling that something isn't right. Trevor doesn't say things like 'You never know what might be out there.' It's just not him."

"Sure it is," Jesse said. He's weird like that all the time.

"But he's not THAT weird," Ashley pointed out. "What about that evil laughter he did?"

"What about it?"

"He never laughs like that. Never. He fakes it, sure, but it sounded pretty real to me. And did you notice how pale he was?"

"He's Goth, Ashley. He wears black. And you of all people should know that black makes people look pale."

"I don't know..."

"Come on, Ashley," Rachel said. "Where's the logical Ashley I know? Listen to yourself. You sound like you belong in an insane asylum! And I know for a fact that you don't. Jesse's another story." With this last point, she gave Jesse a playful little nudge.

"I suppose you're right... Nothing bad can happen if we're in a group, right?"

"Right," the other two girls responded.

"Now, are we going to eat these S'mores," Rachel asked, "Or are we just going to let them sit there?

* * *

Rachel must have dozed off, because around 9:30, she was awoken by violent shaking and the flickering light of a candle. 

"Rachel," Jesse said, "Get up. I've got all of the supplies for the Ouija board ready!"

"Wha?" She said, stretching and rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Where's Ashley?"

"She's outside already. The board is all set up and I just need to set up and light the candles."

"But won't they be blown out?"

"Glass jars with holes in the lids. That should keep out the wind, yet let them still burn."

"But what if Ashley is right? What if something IS wrong?"

Jesse shook her head. "Rachel," she said, "You've won _Myffed_ about a million times over. Surely you're smart enough to know that nothing can possibly go wrong. Of course I know the Ouija board doesn't really work. I made up that story about using it before and having it work. Now, come on!"

She lead Rachel outside to a stump in the middle of her backyard. The tree had been cut down because it had been dying, and was in danger of falling on Rachel's house.

"Now, the best places to Ouija Board," Jesse explained, "Are places of death. This tree is dead, obviously, so we chose it because it's the nearest area of death we can find." She continued by setting the candles in the jars.

"These candles," she explained as she lit each one and firmly screwed the lid on, "are supposed to guide the spirit we contact to where we are."

"So, what are we going to contact," Ashley said with a scoff, "The spirit of the tree?"

"No," Jesse said, giving her a strange look. "I have Native American blood in me, but I don't believe in everything having a spirit. Now, you see this pointer? We use it to -"

"What are you three doing out here?"

Trevor stood on Rachel's back porch, surveying the strange scene. He seemed calm for some reason, errily so, but Rachel assumed that this was just because he was tired.

"Um, you can go back to bed, now," she said, knowing how grumpy he could get when he was tired. "We'll be quieter from now on."

"Naw, it's okay. Come here for a second."

Rachel walked over to her brother. "Yes?"

He looked down at her and smiled. Rachel noticed that his eyes appeared glazed.

"Trevor," she asked, looking at him suspiciously, "Are you doing drugs?"

"That's stupid. Why would I do that? You know I don't."

"Do I?"

"Do I appear to be high to you?"

"Well, your eyes are glazed, so I thought..."

Trevor chuckled and hugged Rachel. "I'm just tired," he replied. "Trust me: if I were high, you'd know." He let go of his sister and smiled, then walked back into the house.

Rachel was puzzled for a moment. It was nice to recieve a sign of affection from her brother, but Trevor didn't seem to be himself lately. He was right, though - even though his eyes had a strange appearance, he wasn't showing any other symptoms of drug useage. She dismissed the glazed eyes as a symptom of sleep deprivation, nothing more, and walked back to the Ouija board.

"Guys," Ashley said, "I have a bad feeling about this. First Trevor is acting weird. Then he hugs you. And his eyes looked distant to me. He's seriously out of it!"

"Ashley, he's just tired. Maybe he's sleepwalking."

"Sleepwalking does NOT look like that. My little brother sleepwalks, and he -"

"Maybe we should get back to the point?" Jesse asked as she gestured to the Ouija board.

"Okay," Ashley said as Jesse put her hands on the pointer.

"What should I ask it?" Jesse asked. "Ashley, you go first."

"Ask if Jake B. has a thing for me!"

The other two girls groaned. Ashley had had a crush on Jake B. ever since the third grade, and it had only elevated itself over the years. Rachel rolled her eyes as Jesse closed hers and allowed the pointer to travel where it wished.

"Okay, spirits, wherever you are," she said, "Tell us - Does Jake B. like Ashley?"

The pointer gravitated towards 'yes'. Ashley squealed in delight.

"Mmkay, my turn," Jesse said, closing her eyes. "Okay, I need you to answer my question now. What is the answer to life, the universe, and everything?"

The pointer shook a bit, as if the spirit were shaking it head and saying "That girl..." The pointer then moved to two numbers - four and two. Jesse laughed as she looked as the answer the spirit had given her. Apparently, it was a Douglas Adams fan.

"Okay, Rachel, your turn. Ask it something."

"Okay. I want to know if something is wrong with Trevor."

Jesse shook her head slightly, then asked the question aloud.

The pointer immediately shot towards 'yes'. Rachel looked worried.

"W-where is he now?" she asked, taking the pointer from Jesse and holding it to the board with her hands. The pointer began to spell something out, and Jesse whipped out her sketch book to dutifully write each letter down. Eventually the pointer stopped, and Rachel looked at the letters it had written.

I HAVE TREVOR

Ashley, who had not spoken for a while now, asked allowed "But where is he?"

The pointer began to spell out more letters, and Jesse again wrote them down. When she had finished, the letters revealed the text

HE BECOMES ME AND FITS WELL

"Do you mean to say, spirit," Rachel said nervously, "That you've posessed him?"

The pointer pointed to 'yes'. Rachel was so startled that she let go of the pointer.

"But why?" Ashley wondered aloud. Again the pointer moved and spelled out letters.

I HAD TO MAKE YOU TRUST ME

Rachel shivered, partly from the cold, but mostly from fear.

"Why did you want to get close to us?" she asked.

The pointer did not move.

"Who are you?"

This time, the pointer moved without Rachel's hands being on it.

I AM YOUR WORST NIGHTMARE

The girls trembled in fear and huddled closer, afraid to even speak. The candles suddenly went out simeltaniously, and a rustling was heard, making the girls feel jumpy. Rachel fumbled for her flashlight and pointed it at the bushes.

There stood Trevor, staring in the girls' direction.

"Trevor, you scared the crap out of us!" Rachel said. "Do you have any IDEA how -"

"I scared you, did I?" Trevor's voice didn't sound the same. It seemed echoey, as if both he and someone else were talking. "Well then, I must have done a good job."

Trevor collapsed suddenly. Rachel ran over to him, hoping that he was okay. He was mean, but he WAS her brother after all. Ashley and Jesse ran to her aid.

"Trevor, Trevor, get up! Please!" Ashley beat on his chest, hoping to revive him. "Please, this isn't funny!"

Rachel half expected him to sit up, saying, "Yeah, it is," or to grab Ashley's hand suddenly and yell "I have risen from the dead!" But he said nothing. He never stirred. Rachel checked his pulse. It was there, but it was weaker than normal.

"He's probably in a coma," an unfamiliar voice said from behind Rachel. "That often happens after a posession for that amount of time."

All three girls turned to see who had spoken and screamed at the same time when they saw what appeared to be a grinning skeleton.

"He'll be fine," it said in a tone that was undoubtably meant to be soothing. "He might be a bit stunned upon waking up, but that's to be expected."

None of the girls moved. No one even blinked.

"You three _were_ trying to contact the dead. I simply answered your call. It would've been rude not to." The skeleton glanced towards Jesse's Ouija board. "Marvelous things, Ouija boards," he said. "Too bad more humans don't believe ghosts exist." He began to casually pace back and forth in front of the girls.

Ashley was amazed and terrified at the same time. So ghosts and goblins DID exist.

The skeleton paused in mid-stride, then turned to face Ashley, looking her dead in the eye as a sinister smile spread across his face.

"You three don't believe I really exist, do you?" he asked, now looking at Jesse. "You think that this is some dream, don't you? A figment of your imaginations." He strode towards Rachel and took her by the hand, looking into her eyes.

"I assure you," he said finally, "I am as real and tangible as you are."

Rachel shuddered and tried to pull away, but somehow could not move her limbs. So THIS was what being scared stiff felt like.

"Aha!" the skeleton said loudly, causing all three girls to flinch. "You aren an arachnophobic, Rachel. How classic."

"How -" Rachel began as the skeleton continued on to the next girl. But the question "How did you know that?" was confused with "How do you know my name?"

The skeleton chuckeled and gave a quick glance in Rachel's direction. "I can see what you fear most," he said. "Your eyes are the dead giveaway. They ARE the windows through which your soul sees the world, after all, so it's only fitting that I can see through them as well. For instance, _you_, Ashley, fear the dead. Another classic fear. And _you_, Jesse, if I am not mistaken, are scared of... chickens?" A confused look crossed his face as he finished this last sentance. "Chickens? Did I misread... But that can't be right! Chickens don't scare anyone!"

He looked into Jesse's eyes again and smiled.

"Well, I'll be!" the skeleton said. "You really ARE afraid of chickens, aren't you?"

Jesse looked embarrassed. "Well, chickens have sharp beaks!" she retaliated. "They chase after people, going like "BA-GAWK-BA-GAWK!", and they just stare at you... with those cold eyes..." she shuddered.

"Okay," the skeleton said, just as confused as everyone else. "I'll just combine them!"

Suddenly, a dozen or so Zombie-Spider-Chickens popped out of the ground. The girls stared at these odd creations for a moment, but this morbid fascination quickly gave rise to sheer terror as the strange arachnid-chicken hybrids chased after them, squawking madly. Jesse was too terrified to do a thing except curl up in her 'Happy Place' and let the chickens peck her over and over.

Rachel, meanwhile, fought back, kicking and yelling at the chicken-spiders. The skeleton noticed that Rachel wasn't bothered by the spider-chickens and snapped his fingers, replacing the creatures with another one. Rachel stared in sheer terror at a black spider as big as herself, then ran screaming around the yard with the massive arachnid close in pursuit.

Ashley looked at her friends quizzically. Spiders, she could understand, but chickens? She grabbed one by the neck and threw it as far away from her as she could. Again the skeleton noticed this and gave Ashley a soul-chilling look before taking his head off and throwing it at her. The attack had been so sudden that Ashley's instincts kicked in and she caught it in mid-air.

"Hey, thanks," it said.

"No problem," Ashley said before suddenly remembering that a disembodied head shouldn't be talking at all and throwing it back at the skeleton's body in revulsion.

The skeleton caught its head and waved at her. Ashley swooned and fainted.

Suddenly, Trevor burst out of the bushes yelling loudly, which made the two remaining conscious girls scream loudly. Lights went on all over the house. This got the attention of the skeleton, who quickly put his head back on and scooped up a forgotten flashlight, handing it to Trevor.

"What are you doing?" Trevor asked.

The skeleton smiled at him.

"Blaming you," it said, snapping its fingers nad suddenly disappearing into the night with his undead chicken-spiders and giant arachnid.

Rachel's parents stepped out into the backyard and turned on the porchlight. Rachel and Jesse were covered in small cuts and shaking in fear. Ashley was still out cold. And to the adults, Trevor was looking about as guilty as a fat cat in a canary cage.

_End Flashback_

_Sugary: Jack? That was YOU who peeked into the window at my friend's slumber party?_

_Jack: ...maybe._

_Sugary: JACK SKELLINGTON!111111oneoneoneonetwo_

_Jack: Er, I'll see you next chapter, I'm busy trying to fend off this avid, annoyed fanfiction writer! Why, oh why did I have to untie her?_

_Sugary: Jeez, Jack, first Christmas, now my fanfiction. Is there anything that you WON'T try to take over?_

_Jack: You said I could!_

_Sugary: No, I said that you were going to narrate the story. The council and I decided to cancel that act a week before the story started. Didn't you get the memo?_

_Jack: No._

_Sugary: Okay, then it's not your fault... IT'S THE COUNCIL'S! Get over here NOW!_

_Councilman: -talking on phone- Uh, um... I gotta let you go, Avery, Jack didn't get the memo and now Sugary's mad! Heeeeelllllp!_

_Sugary: That's the last time I hire YOU as a messanger!_

_Jack: Uh, I'll see you next chapter! -crash is heard, Jack flinches- I better go help._


	9. 9: A Bitter Reunion

_Jack: Hello again!_

_Sugary: Well, Jack, this chapter marks the third-to-last chapter of Origins._

_Jack: Yup. Quite sad, really._

_Sugary: -gets teary-eyed- I'm-a miss this fanfiction!_

_Jack: -gets sad as well- I'm going to miss it, too._

_Sugary: And I'm gonna miss you! -bawls her little eyes out-_

_Jack: You aren't the only one._

_Sugary: -suddenly becomes happier again- As an additional notice, after the end of Origins, I'll be taking a short Hiatus from the Nightmare community in order to add more stories to my ASOUE fanbase. I'm not quite sure when I'll be back, but you can expect a sequel to this story and another fanfiction that will require Jack to team up with an unlikely ally. No, it's not me. No, it's not Santa, but he will make an appearance. No, I'm NOT going to spoil the plot for you._

_Jack: -hugs- I'll miss you while you're gone, you know._

_Sugary: I'll miss you, too. Come visit me in the ASOUE section every once in a while, Mmkay? -addressing audience- Okay, enough of the tearful goodbyes, I'll save that for the last chapter. Now, however, we have some reviews to answer._

_IloveEdgarHoakSkellington:_

_Sugary: Look, Jack, we have another new one._

_Jack: Glad you like the disco chapter. You are obviously invited to the end-of-story party!_

_Sugary: We're having an end-of-story party?_

_Jack: Well, of course! You can't end a story without an end-of-story celebration!_

_Sugary: OMG, you're right! I can't believe I forgot for even a second!_

_The Lady Badger:_

_Sugary: OMG, Hi! I haven't seen you around in a while. Jack, this is the guy that I told you about._

_Jack: The one who wrote the Nightmare-ASOUE crossover? That was a good story!_

_Sugary: Yeah, I know. Thanks for likeing the idea, and don't worry, I'll continue it. ;)_

_Flight815Surviver:_

_Sugary: I think I sent an e-mail to you, or a reply to the review you sent, already. Check your inbox._

_Jack: Yeah. Sheep are weird. They wouldn't make scary films that somehow cameo sheep if they weren't._

_Sugary: -shivers- Sheep give me the willies._

_Jack: -evil grin- -snaps fingers and disappears-_

_Sugary: Jack? Jack? Don't you EVEN try it. Don't you EVEN pop out and scare me! I know you're here somewhere! Jack? PLEASE ANSWER ME!_

_Jack: -suddenly appears behind Sugary- RAWR! -tackle-glomps-_

_Sugary: Jack... :'( -big teary anime eyes- That was mean... And if you weren't dead already, I'd KILL you for that!_

_Jack: Hehe... That never gets old, Sugary, no matter how many times I do it:)_

_Jack: Okay, this chapter features Jonathan again. Yeah, remember him? The psycho guy who killed me? Yeah. I meet up with him again._

_Sugary: But what happens when they meet? I bet even YOU can't guess. Enjoy the story, Y'all._

_--Flashback--_

Albany, New York, 10:07 PM

Jack gazed down at his twisted flock of poultry, now busy pecking at tiny spiders crawling along the ground. Most of the creatures, including, unfortunately, the giant spider (He really liked that spider!) had been lost in shifting to the next stop on his route, but a small percentage - all three of them - had made it, although one was now missing a leg.

_What should I do with them?_ Jack thought. _I can't bring them back home with me, and I can't let them stay here. They're doomed either way._

Suddenly, the chicken-spiders keeled over and died - again.

Jack blinked in confusion. _Well,_ he thought, _THAT was easy. There must be something in the Real World that they're deathly allergic to. Hopefully, nobody gets Bird Flu from the bodies._

He stepped out from behind the bushes he had been hiding behind and began to leisurely stroll along the sidewalk, wondering who his next victim would be. Would it be the ten-year-old kid, wandering around from house-to-house by himself? Or would it be the adult sitting on the bench on the corner?

His other targets had been easy enough to scare - he had provided the right settings, and their imaginations did the rest. The boys in the graveyard, for instance, had been in the right place at the right time. The teens at the costume party could not have seen behind anyone's mask. And the three girls at the slumber party had the ouija board out and were already spooked for some reason - he could sense it - so he simply accented that. The fear was the cake, and he was the rich, creamy frosting.

"Hey dude!"

Jack was startled by this sudden voice and looked down. There stood a young boy who looked no older than perhaps eight or nine. A sheet was draped over him, with holes cut into it for his eyes, and slips over his shoes that looked like clogs. Next to him stood an older boy, who was probably his brother, dressed as Death, with a big foam scythe to match. Jack could tell that behind the make-up, the boy was perhaps in his early teens, maybe a bit younger. Jack smiled. Here he was, looking for his next targets, and they had willingly come to him!

"Good evening," he said. "Interesting Flying Dutchman costume."

"You're the first person to notice all night!" the little kid piped up. "Everyone else just assumed I was a ghost with clogs on. Your costume is good, too. It looks almost real!"

_Is my appearance REALLY that cheesy?_ Jack wondered to himself.

The elder brother gave Jack an accusing look. "It looks fake," he said in a snobby tone. "And aren't you a little too old for trick-or-treating?"

Jack smiled, and tried not to laugh at his comment. "Aren't _you?_"

The brother looked nervous for a moment, as if he had been caught in the middle of a lie. "Uh, um, I'm taking my brother out, because our parents are handing out candy at our house."

"Then why the costume?"

"For, uh, ambiance?"

Jack allowed himself a small smile. "I see. You boys enjoy your evening, now."

"You too."

The older brother grabbed his sibling's hand and pulled him down the street.

"Be careful," Jack said in a slightly menacing way before jumping into the bushes.

* * *

"I'm telling you, that guy was weird. What kind of creep dresses up in costume and stops kids in the middle of the street on Halloween night?" The two boys were now walking at a quicker pace; the eldest boy had felt threatened by the man's prescence and remembered what his mother had said about trusting his instincts, which were telling him that he was in danger. He had simply wanted to get his brother and him to safety.

"But he wasn't even doing anything," the younger brother said. "He was only being nice."

"Still, that's pretty creepy. Strangers shouldn't just come up to you in the middle of a street and start being nice to you. Didn't you learn ANYTHING from that course they had at school in the second grade?" The two sat on a nearby bench to rest, listening to the leaves rustle in the wind.

But was it just the wind?

"I'm scared," the little boy said, clinging to his sibling.

"It's just the wind," the older brother said as he shoved him off. "Stop being such a baby." But he wasn't so sure himself. He got up off of the wooden bench, carefully turning around to see...

Nothing. His little brother was absolutely terrified, though.

He breathed a sigh of relief and spun back around, only to yelp in terror and fall back.

The man they had encountered earlier was face to face with him.

Horrified, the elder brother grabbed his sibling and their pillowcases of candy, then ran off screaming.

Jack watched them run off and grinned. The creepy stalker act never failed.

But now he had more pressing matters to attend to, for instance, the house in front of him. The windows were awash with a dim blue light, obviously from a TV screen. Jack, intregued, decided to take a closer look.

He peeked into the window at the unsuspecting homeowner, who was obviously an adult and was watcing some cheesy B-movie from the 80's. Honestly, humans came up with some of the stupidest ways to scare other humans. Whoever thought Freddy Krueger was scary hadn't met a real monster. Not surprisingly, the man seemed nervous. A prime target.

Jack snuck around back, easily jumping the short metal fence with his long legs, and walked over to the back door. Making sure nobody was around to accuse him of trying to break in, he peered into the kitchen at the doorknob. Again, not surprisingly, the door was deadbolted shut. The owner must've gotten so scared by the movie that he had locked his doors and windows. There was no way an ordinary person could get in or pick the lock, not by himself.

But then again, Jack was not an ordinary person.

He recalled a trick he had learned only last year after watching two ghosts cavorting in the graveyard. They had been looping and diving into the ground and through walls, which inspired Jack to try it himself. Things didn't work out so well at first, but eventually he managed to do it. Emily had called this "Shadow-Phasing", and taught him the proper method, and by the time the lesson was over, he could do it about five times out of ten.

Yes. It just might work.

Jack closed his eyes and tried to imagine himself stepping through the door, then he walked forward...and straight into the door.

Jack fell backward and shook his head as if to clear it. _Ow,_ he thought. _Trying this AGAIN..._

He repeated the process, eventually infiltraiting the house.

_There, I'm in. Now to sneak up on him._

Jack looked around a bit first, recognizing the kitchen from somewhere. Why did he have the feeling that he had been here before?

No matter. He had a job to do.

Jack snuck against the far wall, barely making a sound, his spidery shadow cast upon the wall by the eerie glow of the television. And the home's owner was totally oblivious to all of this.

He gave a simple wave of his hand, and watched as the lights went out. The homeowner nervously clicked the power button on the remote control again and again. Jack snuck over to the couch, the carpet muffling his footsteps, and watched as the homeowner's imagination took over for him. It was amazing how many people didn't think when they were frightened.

Jack stood up from behind the couch, grabbed the person's shoulder and yelled loudly. The person flipped out and grabbed jack's hand, trying to fling his attacker over the side of the couch. Jack landed, cat-like, on the floor, then pinned the person against the sofa to get a good look at his target - and so his target could see him, but as soon as Jack saw who was staring back at him in terror, he nearly let go and stumbled backwards.

"Jonathan?"

_--End Flashback--_

_Sugary and Jack: -singing- CLIFFHANGER, HANGING FROM A CLIFF! AND THAT'S WHY HE'S CALLED CLIFFHANGER!_

_Sugary: -imitating Cliff Hanger- Can't... hold... on... much... LONGER! -normally- But hopefully, unlike Cliff Hanger, YOU can hold on until the next chapter._

_Jack: Hey Sugary? Who came up with Cliff Hanger anyway?_

_Sugary: it's from this show on PBS called Between the Lions. My little brother and sister loved to watch it all the time._

_Jack: Oh. Hey, we'll see you next chapter. Until then, we'll be doing kareoke! -sings "Cheeseburger In Paradise" into Kareoke microphone-_

_Sugary: -sings along-_


	10. 10: The Calm Before the Storm

_Jack: Well, we're up to the Penultimate chapter of origins._

_Sugary: Penultimate meanes "second-to-last", in case you didn't know._

_Jack: We're both quite sorry that we didn't update sooner. Sugary had band camp to go to._

_Sugary: This one time at band camp... -rambles-_

_Jack: -interrupting Sugary- Um, okay, enough nostalgia._

_Sugary: -continuing- ... and we all had to eat vegetarian, and all of us had like, zero energy, because we were all meat lovers and we couldn't live on Veggies alone. And the tofu was gross. :P_

_Jack: She's not dissing anyone out there who IS Vegetarian or Vegan, she just didn't like the food._

_Sugary: Didn't like is an understatement. I LOATHED it! But the sodas were good, though._

_Jack: Yeah, and the SoBe drinks..._

_Sugary: I lurve mah SoBe! -pokles the SoBe lizard-_

_Jack: Uh, we're supposed to answer reviews?_

_Sugary: Oh yeah. HEY EVERYONE WHO REVIEWED ORIGINS! Free SoBe!_

_NightsFan234:_

_Sugary: Thanks for the comments. Have a SoBe Liz Blizz. It tastes like Pina Colada, but without the alcohol!_

_Jack: And no, Sugary has never eaten a worm in real life. She only had me do it for the purposes of this story, and because she has a twisted mind. She has eaten fried tarantulas before._

_Sugary: They weren't half bad, either. Kinda gross, but still..._

_Flight815Surviver:_

_Sugary: You most certainly can. Have a SoBe Power. It tastes like fruit punch!_

_Jack: And Sugary wholeheartedly hopes that you check out her otherstories while she's on vacation from Nightmare._

_ILoveEdgarHoakSkellington:_

_Jack: O.o Woah! Watch the mouth! And have you ever considered therapy?_

_Sugary: No SoBe for you. You're hyper enough. Have this bottle of Propel instead._

_RavenWriter89:_

_Sugary: Thanks for pointing those out. I'll fix them as soon as possible. And have this SoBe Lizard Lava. It tastes like strawberries!_

_Jack: Thank you for the comment about the discription as well. And the Sally intro._

_Sugary: I came up with that one! And thanks again for saying that the Jack/Sugary dialouge is funny._

_Jack: And don't worry, we'll finish it. ;)_

_Kirby-Chan263:_

_Sugary: I'm excited to finish it off, too! Have a SoBe Energy. It tastes like lemon-lime and other common citrus fruits!_

_Jack: And I don't kill Jonathan, but what I DO do to him is scarcely better. :)_

_GirlyRaven14:_

_Jack: Am I going to have to get a restraining order?_

_Sugary: O.o No SoBe for you, either. Have this bottle of Cherry Fruit 2 O._

_Jack: And to your other comment, are you sure you don't live in Halloween Town? Are you a new arrival I haven't met yet? Because you sound like it to me. And if I'm right, I really AM going to have to get a restraining order._

_Sugary: And you can come to the party - just don't mess with Jack too much._

_Jack: Is that all of 'em?_

_Sugary: Yup. -sips SoBe Courage- Mmm, cherry lemonade!_

_Jack: Then let's get this story started._

Jonathan's house, 10:35 PM

Jonathan and Jack stared at each other in blind confusion for a moment, neither daring to look away or trust their eyes. Neither blinked or spoke.

Jonathan broke the silence by speaking in a voice that was like venom.

"Hello, Jack."

Jack was startled by the unfriendliness in his voice and let go for a brief second, but this was all Jonathan needed to knock Jack down and pin him to the couch.

"It's been so long," he said, glaring at him. "Where have you been? What have you been up to all these years?"

Jack was confused for a moment until he glanced at a nearby calender. It was October 31, of course, but the year had changed.

It was now Halloween night, 1990.

_Impossible!_ Jack thought. _I was gone for only a year! How can this be? Are months like years in Halloween Town? Is it some sort of alternate reality? Did I just lose track of time?_

Jonathan gave him a wicked grin. "That's right," he said in the same unfriendly tone of voice. "You've been dead for four years. Now, will you answer my question, or shall I explain myself?"

Jack looked at him, the confusion beginning to subside. "Jonathan... what... why... how..."

Jonathan chuckled. "You don't remember _anything_, do you? Not your job, not your life... not even your own murder. Yes, Jack. It was I who killed you four years ago. I knifed you right in the heart, then burnt your body. I _did_, admittedly, have to pay for the burns, though." He turned over his left arm to show ugly, jagged scars, left undoubtably by skin grafts.

"I merely forgot to clean up after myself," he continued. "I was burnt to the bone. Spent three weeks in the hospital for that. But it was all worth it."

Jack clenched his fists, trying not to explode. Oh, yes, he remembered Jonathan. At the time, he had only thought that he was pessimistic, but now he could see that Jonathan was purely insane. He watched in fury as Jonathan continued to talk.

"I had to quit my job at the studio. I now work as a C.E.O. at the headquarters of Bronzesafe Banks. And with the salary there, I could afford to live in a new house - the one you formerly lived in."

Jack was shocked. So _that_ was why this house had seemed so familiar!

"But Jonathan," he asked, now fighting rage and confusion both, "Why did you do it? And why to me?"

"Because you STOLE my LIFE!" Jonathan yelled in Jack's face, having to stand on tiptoe because he was so tall. "Every day, from high school until now, you've taken EVERYTHING from me!" He glanced over at his coffee table and grabbed a pair of dice on it, chucking them at Jack's head hard and making a clacking noise upon impact with the smooth surface. "First it was my girlfriend, Megan. Do you remember Megan? How did it feel to kiss her, _Jack?_ What about when you went to bed with her? How did _that_ feel?"

Jonathan threw a nearby chair. Jack dodged it easily by stepping out of the way as Jonathan continued his rant.

"How about that grant for Yale University?" he yelled, pointing at an empty frame on the wall. "The one for Video and Movie Effects? Did you enjoy _that_? Did it feel good to you, walking up that ramp to get the diploma from the Dean while I sat on the sidelines and watched miserably? How about that job at the studio? Wasn't that _fun?_"

Jonathan punched the wall hard enough to create a gaping hole just below the empty frame, then pushed Jack into the wall.

"You've taken it all from me," he said, "It's your fault that I'm a loner with no family and no friends. It's your fault that I'm a bum who has a gambling fetish and cheats to boot. Everything is ALL YOUR FAULT!"

Jack could no longer contain his rage at this last comment. "How _dare_ you," he said, shaking in anger as all of the memories of his previous life came flooding back to him, "blame _me_ for your misdeeds and wrongdoings! You cheated on and hit your girlfriend. You slacked off in collage and were rude to the boss of the studio. And you _still_ won't get help for your gambling problem!"

"I don't have a problem!"

"That isn't the point! It's called burying the hatchet, Jonathan, have you heard of it?"

"IT'S YOUR FAULT!"

"It... is... not... my... FAULT!"

Flames shot up around Jack, and ghosts flew angrily towards Jonathan, who was now shrieking in terror.

"Look at me, Jonathan," Jack said in an icy tone. "I've changed. For the better or for the worse, I can't say. But I do know one thing. It is not now, nor will it ever be, my fault. Now either get over it, or get out."

Jonathan lost all of his inhibitions and began to creep towards the back door, but even in his terror, he could still be sarchastic and chiding.

"There you go again," he said, eyes dialated in fear, "Always being pompus and self-absorbed." Big mistake.

Jack was not in the mood to be tormented anymore. In a sudden feat of supernatural strength, he grabbed the 240 - pound man and vigorously shook him, his head whipping back and forth as if her were a ragdoll.

"You couldn't _live_ without blaming someone," Jack said in a terrifying whisper as he stopped shaking the terrifed man, "And who better than the person who always did better than you, was kinder than you, was more loved than you. Who better to blame than me? You just couldn't release your grude against me. So you took _my_ life in the place of your own miserable existance. _What kind of twisted logic is THAT?"_

Jack forcefully threw Jonathan against the wall with enough strength to knock him out, but Jonathan was either too thick-headed to be hurt or it had been some sort of miracle that he hadn't fallen into a coma. Instead, Jonathan picked himself up, and, shaking like a dead leaf in the wind, ran outside as far and fast as he could.

Unfortunately, Jonathan did not notice the drunken driver in the red Chevy convertable swerving into the right lane. His neck snapped on impact, and Jack heard a sickening _thunk-thunk_ as the driver ran him over, then a crash of metal a few moments later.

Jack, horrifed at what he had just seen, ran over to Jonathan's lifeless body.

"Jonathan, are you okay?" he asked, although he knew that Jonathan was most definately not. "Jonathan? Please get up! I didn't mean to scare you that badly!" He vigorously shook the man, but to Jack's great dismay, Jonathan's head simply lolled from side-to-side.

_Oh my god,_ Jack thought as an overwhelming sense of horror swept over him. _I've killed him. It really WAS all my fault._

A costumed crowd of men, women, and children had now begun to gather. Jack was going to have to tell them sooner or later. He stood up and tried to swallow the lump in his throat, but could not.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he said in deep regret, "I'm sorry... he's dead." And with that, he began to walk away.

_He just couldn't let go,_ Jack thought, _not even to save his own life._

Police and ambulence sirens began to wail, and the crowd murmured in shock and sympathy, quietly crying for the demise of their neighbor. But nobody noticed as the Pumpkin King slowly walked down the street and finally disappeared into the night altogether.

_Sugary: Awww, that was sad, Jack... :(_

_Jack: I know. :( But don't worry. I'm sure that Jonathan will return for another round. And I bet even you can't figure out who - and what - he'll become._

_Sugary: Here's a riddle for you that ties into this question. The first person on Fanfiction to PM me with the correct answer will get an E-mail from me with a hand-drawn certificate, which you may feel free to use as your own or to post in your blog, xanga, online photo gallery, or anywhere else you choose!_

_Jack: Knowing her, it's probably going to have a picture of me on it. Who knows?_

_**Jack - King - Queen**_

_Sugary: Now go figure it out! Good luck, and may the best fanfictioner win!_

_Jack: And don't worry, she draws good. ;) See you next chapter!_


	11. 11: Epilouge

_Jack: Hello, and welcome to the final chapter of Origins! Those of you that reveiewed, join the party! There's chips and dips over at the snack bar, and Sugary has genorously provided SoBe Courages for all._

_Sugary: SoBe Courage - the official drink of writers everywhere! -shameless advertising- And I hope you all enjoyed your E-SoBes last chapter. ;)_

_Jack: I'm sure they did. And, now, a brief public service announcement concerning the contest we had last chapter:_

_**PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT:**_

_Sugary and Jack will no longer be taking entries for the contest. It's over. Kaput. Done with. If you send them an e-mail, review, or PM with an answer, it will be deleted without regards to the sender. So, remember: Don't do drugs, don't drink and drive, aspirin is not candy although it might look like it, and please, from now on, only send Sugary and her monochromatic, undead compatriot reviews of the story in general. Thank you._

_**END OF ANNOUNCEMENT**_

_Sugary: And now to anounce our winners! Drumroll, please!_

_-drumroll sounds-_

_Jack: And the winners are: GirlyRaven14, Flight815Surviver, and Kirby-Chan263! Congratulations! -"We are the Champions" plays- Please come on down!_

_GirlyRaven14: steps onto podium OMG! You chose me! Jack Skellington chose me! -fangirl squeals, faints-_

_Sugary: -splashes GirlyRaven14 with cold water-_

_GirlyRaven14: wakes up OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!_

_Jack: Good job! Now, don't tell anyone the answer, okay? It's a secret. shakes hand of GirlyRaven14's_

_GirlyRaven14: OMG, you shook my hand! -fangirl squeals, faints again-_

_Sugary: tucks winner's certificate into her hands as GirlyRaven14 is carried away on a stretcher._

_Flight815Surviver: -steps onto podium, accepts handshakes and certificate- I'd like to thank all of you. You're so great! And I'd also like to thank Jack for being such an awesome charicter._

_Jack: Well, thank you. -bows-_

_Sugary: Don't let it all go to your head. It's big enough already. ;)_

_Jack: -looks disgruntled-_

_Kirby-Chan263: -steps onto podium, accepts award- Thank you two. Great job, Sugary. Keep up the great work in yor fanfiction career._

_Sugary: Thank you very much! -bows-_

_Jack: Now that that's taken care of, the reviews:_

_Flight815Surviver:_

_Jack: We can't tell you how sad we are at the end of this great fanfic. But, for every ending, there's always a beginning._

_Sugary: Must you always be so mysterious?_

_Jack: As mysterious as Myst Island. ;)_

_Sugary: -rolls eyes-_

_Jack: And we're glad that you're happy._

_Sugary: BTW, I re-mailed your certificate to you. I hope it works._

_Kirby-Chan263:_

_Jack: You hit the nail right on the head._

_Sugary: And I hope that your certificate makes it to you. If not, give me a shout. I'll send it to you again._

_ILoveEdgarHoakSkellington:_

_Jack: No, he didn't deserve it. Nobody deserves to die._

_Sugary: Except Hitler._

_Jack: Except him. He actually DID deserve it._

_Sugary: And, no, I'm sorry, you did NOT win the contest. Jonathan does not become the mayor. Although that would be an interesting plot twist._

_Jack: Think about it: Does Jonathan strike you as the kind of person that should even deserve to RUN for mayor, let alone become him?_

_OnlySkelly:_

_Sugary: Well, I'm glad that you like the story so much! And please, don't commit suicide over my story ending. There is a sequel in the works, and I'm assuming that you want to be alive to read it._

_Jack: Unfortunately, it isn't coming out until next year, at best, due to Sugary's hiatus from the Nightmare community._

_Sugary: I'll miss you, man!_

_Jack: I'll miss you, too._

_Sugary: As a matter of fact, you can still find me on Fanfiction over at the ASOUE section, writing more stories about the Baudelaires and that dastardly Count Olaf. One will be a collection of Holiday stories, which I'm sure that Jack will enjoy immensely._

_Jack: -big grin-_

_Sugary: And, for my fellow Myst players out there, I have a Myst-ASOUE crossover also in the works. It's still up in the air about its date of publication, though._

_Jack: And thank you for your kind compliments about my scaring abilities. And I certainly could teach you - if you were dead, which I assume that you are not. You do show great promise, though. Keep it up. One hint: Keep quiet in hiding, try to get to your hiding spot before your intended victim, and learn the art of stealth. Once you have that down, anything is possible._

_GirlyRaven14:_

_Sugary: Again, you're correct. I tried to add as many clues as possible throughout the story in Jonathan's scenes, and you've picked up on them. Good for you. Also, good job at figuring out my riddle._

_Jack: -reads on- -panics- Oh yeah, I'm getting a restraining order._

_Sugary: Great job everyone!_

_Jack: Now, sit back, relax, and enjoy the epilouge - or final chapter, whatever you wish to call it - of "Origins: Rise of the Pumpkin King"._

_--Flashback--

* * *

_

Halloween Town, Jack's House, 11:05 PM

Jack sat at the edge of his bed, wanting to cry, but not being able to, since he was a skeleton and could not. Emily sat across from him, trying to give him some reassureance, and Sally sat at his side, hoping to cheer him up before his first big performance of the year. But in spite of being surrounded by his friends, Jack simply could not get over his co-worker's death.

"I killed him," Jack said miserably. "I scared him to death. Literally. He got hit by a car. It really WAS all my fault."

Sally put a cloth hand on Jack's shoulder. "No, it's not," she said. "You just lost your temper. It was an accident, nothing more."

"You don't understand!" Jack threw a book across the room in his anger and pain, almost hitting Emily, who quickly scurried out of the way and onto the ceiling. "He killed me! Out of vengance! And I was too blind to see it..." He sat back down, holding his skull in his hands. "I wish I were dead."

"Uh, Jack?"

"Oh, yeah, duh."

Emily skittered over to her student, a kindly look in her red eyes.

"Jack?"

He looked up at his teacher.

"I was in your shoes once. I have also caused a human death during a scare route. Strangulation with web. Dead within a matter of moments. I was only trying to get them to hold still, and I miscalculated. It's something that every Pumpkin Monarch must face. You've learned a great lesson, Jack."

"But I thought I was done with my training," he said, confused.

Emily laughed, a silvery laugh like the peals of bells. "You may have graduated to the next level," she said, "But no matter where you go or what you do, you will never stop learning." She looked once more at her student. "You have a great gift. A powerful one. And you must use it wisely. I do not know where fate will take you, Jack, but this you must recognize, whatever roads you might take. Now, go get ready. You're on in ten minutes."

Jack nodded and got up to leave for Town Hall.

"Oh, and Jack?"

"Yes?"

"Do try not to lose your temper."

Jack gave her a thin smile and walked out of the room.

* * *

Halloween Town, Underground Cave, 11:05 PM

Jonathan woke up in a place he did not recognize, feeling disoriented and odd.

The underground cavern was so huge, it must have taken several millenia to form. There were pools of lava all over, the light from them casting an eerie glow over the cavern walls. And the entire place seemed empty.

_This is strange,_ he thought. Why would his afterlife look like this? Unless...

_Oh, no. It can't be!_

He squealed in horror. Wait a minute. He _squealed?_

A nearby shard of glass revealed why. Jonathan looked at his reflection and once again squealed in horror.

He had become an insect. A tiny green centapede.

He jumped back in surprise. If he was really in Hell, then why had he turned into an insect? And why couldn't he remember anything? It was as if his death, for he was sure that he was dead, had erased all aspects of his life. He couldn't even remember his own name.

But one thing that he did remember was his personality. His love of gambling and games of chance. And he even recalled his old cardshark name, back when he had been - oh, God, what age had he been then? 20, perhaps? Hadn't he been named Oogie?

Oogie. So _that_ was his name.

But there was something else, too. A memory of his last moment before death. He saw himself running, but for what reason? He saw himself turning, looking back at a skeleton, who wore an angry look on its face, then one of horror. The memory cut to black from there, and that, Oogie assumed, was when he was killed. The skeleton must have killed him. But what was its name?

Oogie roared in frustration (or as well as a bug could, anyway). He had to get rid of his killer. And somehow, he knew that it lived here - not in the cavern, of course, but where the cavern was located - somewhere in the strange land that he now found himself.

Suddenly, a soft skittering sound was heard - starting out very low, and rising into a massive roar. Something was approaching from the dark recesses of the cavern, the areas not lit by the lava, and to Oogie's surprise, he saw a large swarm of various insects, spiders, reptiles, and scorpions come crawling towards him. Afraid that he might be eaten by the larger creatures, he stumbled backwards, almost falling into the lava and putting a quick end to his afterlife.

But something caught him. A black-and-white striped snake, obviously different from any snake seen on earth. It slowly and gently lowered him to the floor, far away from the bubbling lava below.

For the first time, Oogie noticed that the insects and various other creatures were carrying some sort of massive cloth, perhaps burlap. A small spider, trembling in fear for some reason, was pushed out of the crowd, squeaking in protest in some strange insect tongue, but Oogie understood every word.

"But I'm frightened, Aramel."

"You _will_ speak to him. He will not harm one of his breatherens."

"But... I..."

"_SPEAK!_"

The tiny creature sighed. "I... will, sire," It said before crawling forward in obvious reproach. Oogie watched in confusion as the spider walked towards him. Why was it so frightened of him? Was it because he was bigger, or was their some other reason?

The spider stopped just in front of Oogie, then bowed before him, as if he were some sort of God. The spider began to speak to him, shakily and rapidly, in some sort of strange insect tongue, but Oogie understood every word

"Please," it said, "We have been waiting for you, Mr. Boogy man, sir, to free us from this dreadful darkness. We are so weak alone, but together, we are strong. Please, we beg you to lead us, liberate us from our insect forms; help us become stronger... if it's not too much trouble. We can help you."

Oogie felt empowered. This could be his chance to get back at his killer - whatever its name was. He looked out at the crowd, and the crowd looked back at him, waiting to see what would happen.

A snake in the back row piped up in a low hiss, which Oogie again understood perfectly.

"My Lord," it said, "Do you accept?"

Oogie looked at how many creatures were there. The power of that many single souls in one person, with him leading them... his strength would be unparalleled. He knew what his answer must be.

He looked once more out at the crowd, and, raising his voice as high as he could muster, said "I accept!"

The crowd cheered, a strange buzzing squeak, and followed Oogie into the mass of cloth they had set before him. The creatures distributed throughout it, eventually becoming arms, legs, a body, then a head. But, it had no voice - yet. Oogie jumped into the mouth of the large figure before him, surprised he could jump that high, and felt the immense change in size and viewpoint; the raw power of millions combined as one. And he controlled them all.

He picked up a broken shard of glass and examined his new form. "Well, then," he said in a surprisingly deep voice. "Yes... this is perfect!" He gave an evil little chuckle, which built into a laugh, then into a massive roar that shook the entire cavern.

So was the dawning of the Oogie Boogie Man.

* * *

Halloween Town, Town Hall, 12:30 PM

"And as we close tonight's celebration, let the record show that this was the dawning of a new leader for our horrid holiday; a new Pumpkin King. Please put your hands, tentacles, and various other appendages together for our new leader, Mr. Jack Skellington!"

Emily finished her speech to the roar of applause and stepped off of the podium.

"Knock 'em dead," she whispered to Jack as he steped on stage. "And don't sweat the small stuff, okay?"

"I'll do my best," he replied, stepping onto the podium.

"My fellow denizens of Halloween Town," he begain, "I come to you tonight with the utmost humility. Tonight, as many of you may well know, was my first scare route. My first year as your leader."

Here, he paused to collect his thoughts on what to say next.

"But Halloween, as we all well know, is not all fun and games," he continued. "There is a great challenge. We all must know when a scare is too much for any normal human to bear, or too little to evoke a good reaction. I'm afraid that, in a fit of anger, I overlooked this simple fact, as I'm sure we all have at some point. For during tonight's festivities, there was a dreadful accident, and I do not mean dreadful in the sense of a good scare occurred. I mean that a person from the real world has been killed in tonight's celebration; a person that I know from a previous life."

Silence from the crowd, except for a few murmurs of comfort from the back row.

"His name was Jonathan Hurley. He was a co-worker of mine. And he was also my killer."

The crowd gasped in horror and several comments of disapproval erupted.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please! Calm yourselves. I am disappointed in his choice as well, but if he had not killed me, I would never have come here, now would I?"

The crowd began to fall silent once more.

"I accidentally stumbled upon him during my scare route," Jack continued. "I was so angry when I found out that he had... when I found out about what he had done, I lost my temper and scared him into running into a busy road."

Jack again paused to figure out how to word the rest of his speech.

"He never noticed the drunken driver in the convertable. His neck snapped on impact. Dead within seconds." He looked out at the crowd, hollow sockets surveying the faces of the audience for signs of remorse for his predicament. To Jack's great surprise, several members looked sorry for him, even guilty, instead of angry and shocked by what happened.

"I doubt that Mr. Hurley is here tonight," Jack continued, "And tonight was a dark day in my history, but I have learned one thing throughout all of my travels. Both life and death are not easy - although, in this case, the latter is more enjoyable."

Laughter erupted from the crowd.

"And so, I leave you with this last thought," he concluded. "As we close on this successful year, and as I enter my term of leadership, may I just say that we have turely made this year a terrifying one, and it's all thanks to you. Keep up the great work, and let's make next year's Halloween just as great."

_But I do wonder,_ Jack thought to himself, _Is there more out there? More towns like this in strange realities unlike my own? And where?_

Emily suddenly crawled onstage, holding a box wrapped in shiny purple paper.

"Jack," she said, "It it customary to give the new leader something. A companion of sorts. And I'm sure many of you out there in the audience remember my cat, Midnight."

With this, a rather lanky black cat leapt onto the podium, purring. Emily scratched it behind the ears, and it hopped down, circling her.

"I figure that since you don't look like much of a cat person," Emily said, "You'd rather have a canine friend to share your adventures with." She handed Jack the box, picked up her cat, and walked offstage.

Jack looked at the box, then proceeded to unwrap it, and as soon as he took the top off, a shimmering white creature flew out of it, flying around his head and yipping excitedly. It stopped in front of Jack's face, looked at him with curious eyes, then licked him, its orange nose glowing brightly, and Jack soon realized that it was a ghost dog Emily had given him.

The dog picked up something out of the box, a coller with a shiny silver tag. On the tag was engraved 'Zero'.

"Zero," Jack said. "So that's your name, huh, boy?"

The dog yipped and allowed Jack to put its coller on, to the awws of the crowd.

"Thanks, Emily," Jack said.

"I'm sure that you two will be great friends," she said, "Wherever your adventures take you."

Jack gave her a huge grin. He knew that she was right. About the dog, of course, but also about the adventures comment. And as he accepted the applause from the crowd, he wondered exactly when that would be. He didn't know when, of course, but when it did occur, he'd be ready for it.

* * *

_--End Flashback--_

_Jack: Well, that's it. It's all over. Thanks for coming to the party, and now, Sugary, I believe you have something to say?_

_Sugary: Yes. The dedications. This story is dedicated to my BF Nee, my Mom for putting up with me being on the computer so long, Tim Burton, for coming up with such a cool story for the movie, the crew who worked on the movie, the creative Team at Cyan and Broderbund for coming up with the game Myst, which I enjoyed in my freetime and have recently won - BOO-YA! - and everyone else who has helped me out with this fic. Some of the referances, like the Ouija board, hand-out-of-ground Corpse Bride referance, any ASOUE referances, and everything else, including movie, book, and game quotes, belong to those who own them. Thank you._

_Jack: Well... Goodbye. I'll see you after your hiatus, Sugary._

_Sugary: I'll see you, too. I'll miss you._

_Jack: Oh, come here, you... -hugs Sugary-_

_Audience: Awww..._

_Fangirls: -jealous, thinking- How come Jack never hugs ME like that?_

_Sugary: Well, goodbye, y'all. I hope you enjoyed the story. I know I did. Keep an eye out for me in the ASOUE section, and keep on doing the things you do. Peace out._


End file.
